


This Time The Potters

by faewm



Series: Hydrus Black [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Cussing, F/M, Gen, Sequel, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:42:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 115,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22140478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faewm/pseuds/faewm
Summary: Sequel to A Brand New Start: Time Traveler Harry Potter/Hydrus Black once again travels to 1981, hoping this time he can save Harry's parents along with Harry. Having saved Harry once, this time should be much easier with his past experience. If only things would go as he expects they should... a bit of mystery, some romance, no slash. Time Travel!
Relationships: James/Lily
Series: Hydrus Black [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1780819
Comments: 8
Kudos: 173





	1. Convincing the Potters

**Author's Note:**

> There will be cussing in this story. Hydrus isn’t all powerful or super smart. He is going to make mistakes, quite a few actually, or else this would be a very short story.
> 
> There will probably be little romance in this story. As we found out in the past; I’m not very good at it. Though, Lily and James will get lovey-dovey from time to time, hence making them a couple in the summary.
> 
> Since this is already a pretty long AN, I’d also like to add, since it has been mentioned a few times and in many of my stories, I do know the difference between ‘Grandfather and I’ and ‘me and Grandfather’. I only use it for character. I feel that though Sirius and Hydrus know the correct way to speak, they are casual people and use lazy terms. However, I give thanks to those who try and educate me; it is nice that you took the time to do so.
> 
> The first four paragraphs are from the last chapter of the first story. 
> 
> This story is posted on ffn, and is up for adoption. I might finish it, but right now my muse is quiet. There are 18 chapter finished, and I thought I'd post it here. 
> 
> I don't own Harry Potter. This will be the disclaimer for the whole story.

_Standing in the empty house on July 31, 2033, Hydrus looked over the homunculus that he created, using his blood and hair. It was the spitting image of him and he had used the Elder Wand to ensure that no one knew it was a fake. Making sure that it would pass inspection, he banished it to the flat he rented when he put the house on the market. He fondly looked around the house that held so many memories and then straightened his shoulders._

_Creating the same time warp he used before, he stepped into the near blinding white portal. He felt like he was moving through an electrical storm. He came out the other end, banished the portal and noted the house was empty. He went through the same motions of buying the house, setting up his accounts, getting a car, putting his name in the system and settling down._

_A week later, using the taboo, he went about capturing the Death Eaters, this time changing them into lifeless objects and putting them in his pocketspace. He decided they would stay there forever, or he would break them at some point, who knew. The time traveler also hunted down the horcruxes that he could. After having captured and transfigured thirty Death Eaters (including the entire inner circle, barring Snape) and removing the dark curse from the diary and the diadem, (the ring was inert after he came back) he turned his attention to meeting the Potters._

_On August 23, 1981, a month before they went into hiding, Hydrus made his way to the house in Godric’s Hollow and knocked on the door. He drew in a breath when James Potter answered, he could see Lily holding baby Harry in the background, looking ready to run. He put on his most innocent face and said calmly, “Hi, my name is Hydrus Black. You don’t know me, but I have a story you’re going to want to hear.”_

“What?” was the confused response from the man in the doorway. “Who are you? What story could you possibly have to tell us?” James demanded, shaking his head to clear it and holding his wand at the stranger’s head. “You said your name is Black. Are you related to Sirius? Why are you here? If you are a Death Eater I will kill you before you hurt my family,” He fired off and tilted his head and looked at the man in front of him. He looked like Sirius, but then again, so did most of the other Black males and they were all Dark Wizards. He kept his wand raised, ready to start fighting for the lives of his wife and child.

As James was talking, Lily was inching closer to the stairs, in case this stranger was a Death Eater, though so far he didn’t seem to act like one, she wasn’t taking the chance. She didn’t want to make any sudden moves, so that it wouldn’t draw the man’s attention. She was at the base of the stairs when he answered one of her husband’s questions.

“Related to Sirius? Well, in a way,” Hydrus hedged with a small chuckle, rubbing the back of his head. He took a good look at his dad for the first time in his life, the messy hair, the lean body, and the hazel eyes. Then he turned his eyes to his mum, red hair, green eyes, and tone body. He drank in the images and knew he would use this memory for his Patronus, since one of the things he always wanted in this life and the last two was to see his parents. Oh, he had seen the pictures and memories, but it was completely different to see them alive. “I’m not a Death Eater, and I can give you a vow that I mean you no harm, but I truly have a story you _need_ to hear,” he offered sincerely. 

That made Lily pause, her foot on the bottom stair, still clutching a wiggling Harry, who was fussing at his mum’s stress. It was a big thing to give a vow and this man offered it with no qualms. She turned her attention back to what was happening at the door as she rocked Harry to calm him down.

“Alright then, give us your vow,” James said, keeping his wand pointed at the unknown man’s head. He too was amazed at the casual offer.

“I, Hydrus Williamsford Black, do hereby swear on my life and magic that I am not a Death Eater and I mean no physical harm to anyone with the last name Potter. I also swear that the story I’m about to give is the truth. This I swear on my life and magic, so mote it be,” the immortal recited, and a blue light surrounded him, sealing the vow. He knew his account was going to cause mental distress. He gave an innocent smile and a questioning look to the man holding him a wand point, not blaming him; this is a time of war.

“Right, come in then, but be warned if you break your vow, I’ll act before your magic does,” James threatened, moving away from the door, still leery, but mollified that at least he wasn’t out to harm his family. He caught the wording of the vow, but was willing to listen to this stranger’s tale.

“Like I said, I have something to tell you and you’re not going to believe it at first, but I have a pensieve to prove everything I tell you is true,” Hydrus stated as he sat on one of the comfy chairs, his hands in plain sight on the arms and his ankles crossed in front of him, giving off an air of non-intimidation, trying to put the tense couple at ease. He knew these were dark times, that they knew the prophecy, well at least that there was one, and he was very surprised that they let him into the house. He casually looked around the room.

The living room was cosy; one sofa, two chairs and a table in the middle all done in tones of muted brown. The floral rug was a nice touch in tones of green and brown, complementing the furniture. Pictures of the family lined the walls and there were two bookcases crammed with tomes. A large fireplace was on one wall, probably the Floo, a fire burning in it making the room a comfortable temperature. There was a playpen in the corner and a desk on the far wall.

“Is there a danger to our family?” Lily asked as she tentatively sat with baby Harry on the sofa, James joining her.

“That’s kinda what I’m trying to prevent,” Hydrus said, pulling out the pensieve from his pocketspace, causing the two Potters to gasp, and putting it on the table. “What I’m about to tell you is going to be hard to hear, and when I’m done I’m going to need a vow from you to keep it a secret. I swear I’m only here to help.” His tone and eyes were full of good intentions. He only hoped what he was about to do wouldn’t cause too much distress. He, however, had no problems wiping the memories of his younger self’s parents if it would protect them and him. If they took what he was about to tell badly, he would take the day from them and do everything in his power to save them, even if he had to kidnap them and hide them in his house. He sincerely hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

Harry started to fuss, so Lily excused herself to go and put him down for his nap. Hydrus and James simply stared at one another until she returned. Five minutes later, the redhead sat next to her husband and an uncomfortable silence filled the air.

“Right,” the time traveler said, shifting in his seat. Now that he was here, he really didn’t know where to start. He decided that he was going to be as blunt as possible. “Well, first off I want to tell you that… ummm… well, my birth name is Harry James Potter,” he finally blurted out.

Lily gasped, her eyes widened and she looked at the man’s face, trying to see if there was anything to prove he was telling the truth, but seeing very little resemblance to her son. This man had long straight black hair that reflected blue, his eyes were grey and his cheekbones were high. He looked like a Black and not a Potter.

Hydrus noted her confusion and then remembered his eyes were covered with his colored contacts. He knew if he took them out that she would see her own eyes reflecting back, but he held off on it for now. He was brought out of his thoughts when the elder Potter jumped from his seat.

“That’s bloody impossible!” James yelled, standing and pointing his wand at the man. “How dare you say something like that? What are you trying to pull? There is no way in hell you’ll ever get the Potter fortune!” he bellowed, thinking of the first thing that came to his mind.

Harry started crying and Lily ran up the stairs to calm him down, returning a few minutes later. She stood by her husband’s side. The two men stared defiantly at one another, one with his wand trained, and the other with his hands still resting on the chair.

“I have my own gold and would _never_ take money away from little Harry. Besides, I can prove it,” Hydrus reminded him softly, not moving an inch until the shocked man sat back down. When James flopped back down on the sofa a few minutes later, Lily joining him more slowly, Hydrus removed the memory of the night they died and put it in the pensieve. “Before you watch this, I want to tell you that I am here to prevent this night from happening. It will be hard see and it is alarming, but it is the only memory I have of you two.” His thoughts were that this would be the most convincing memory, even if it would be hurtful. He threw up a Muffliato to prevent them from waking Harry again. He had learned his lesson well in the other timeline, when he raised Harry. While he still didn’t use magic willy-nilly, silence spells were gold to parents.

The two Potters looked at one another and held a silent conversation with lifting of eyebrows and small gestures. Hydrus simply waited them out, remembering all the times he had done the same thing with Grace. _Damn, I miss her,_ he thought sadly, it had only been a few months to him that his love died. Even coming back to the past didn’t dampen that loss.

James broke the silence and said, “I’m going to view that,” he pointed at the pensieve, “and Lily is going to keep her wand on you. If this is a trick, then I will kill you myself.” Then he dipped his finger in the bowl and was sucked into the memory.

Lily kept her wand trained on the still unknown man. She didn’t believe he was from the future, everything she ever studied said it was unmanageable. They waited in silence until a crying James came out of the pensieve.

“Oh, Merlin, it’s true. He is… was… I don’t know… but he is telling the truth,” the emotional man said, very shook-up at hearing his own death and seeing the downfall of his wife. He wasn’t exactly sure what happened after. He saw You Know Who fire a Killing Curse at his son, but obviously he didn’t die, it was a question for after he convinced Lily.

“What!?” Lily shouted, sitting up straighter and lowering her wand in shock. “That’s not possible.” She turned her disbelieving gaze to her stunned husband, eyes roaming over his tear-streaked face.

“Look for yourself, but I have to warn you it’s traumatizing. Lily, that memory is about the night we died. It’s not a fake, I can tell. No, he’s telling the truth,” her husband said, not really wanting his wife to see that, but if it was the only way she’d believe, he wouldn’t stop her.

“How do you know it’s not a fake?” Lily asked, not wanting to believe any of this. _What about timelines and paradoxes? Wouldn’t this man being here destroy the universe?_ _If he was telling the truth, whole world should have imploded when he had looked at Harry and saw himself._ _How is any of this possible?_ Those thoughts flitted through her head as she glared at the innocent looking bowl on the table.

“There are no fuzzy edges; the whole memory is crystal clear. No, trust me, it’s real,” James said, taking her hand. “I was taught by my dad on how to see if a memory is fake. Lily, I don’t want you to see that, but if it is the only way, then prepare yourself.” His tears dried and his facial expression formed into one of determination. “Besides, his vow makes him recount only what’s accurate.”

Lily sat and continued mulling over what the stranger said and then looked at her husband, whom she trusted with her life. “No,” she sighed, leaning against the man she loved, “I’ll take your word for it. I trust you, James.” She sat up, squeezed his hand and kissed him on the cheek. Then the two Potters turned to who they now believed was their grown son, mostly.

“Right,” Hydrus said, happy that this version of his mum didn’t witness her demise, though he felt bad that his dad had and wondered if he should have started off with something less morbid, but couldn’t really think of anything that would have had the same impact. “We can do this one of two ways, I can simply tell you my story or you can view more memories.”

“I think we’re going to need tea,” Lily said, getting up from the sofa and making her way to the kitchen.

“I think we are going to need something stronger,” James corrected and moved to the liquor cabinet in the dining room.

Hydrus just sat back and let them do whatever it took to calm them down, though he wouldn’t turn down a nice cuppa. A short time later, Lily returned with a tray laden with a tea service and flaky pastries. James had already seated himself on the sofa and was downing fire whiskey.

Hydrus was concerned that the man would get too drunk to listen. “James,” he said softly, making the drinking man look up, “I really need you sober.”

“Right,” the messy-haired man said, taking one more shot and thumping his glass on the table. “Let’s hear your account first and if that doesn’t do it, we’ll look at a few of the memories.” Lily nodded in agreement and served the tea, handing a cup to Hydrus and taking the bottle away from her husband. They all settled for a long talk.

“Great,” Hydrus said, sitting up and sipping his tea. “My tale begins from the moment you just witnessed, James, which was supposed to happen on Halloween this year. It all started with a prophecy…” he continued to tell of most his life as Harry Potter up to the point where Rita had tried to out him as a Dark Wizard, after the war. He told them of Dumbledore leaving him at the Dursleys. The abuse he suffered at their hands. He continued on about his life at Hogwarts, the good times and the bad. His tale of the horcrux hunt and the final battle were told in a monotone voice. His voice was furious at the hardships of the Muggle-born and what little was done for them. He finished with the statement that he had more to tell, but later.

The Potters went through a variety of emotions; anger, sadness, fear, laughter and then rage. They were pissed-off that their sort-of-child had had to live such an awful life. If this man hadn’t come back in time, their Harry would suffer the same fate. This led them to be thankful to the time traveler, though Lily still didn’t understand why the world hadn´t imploded.

Every time they tried to interrupt, Hydrus would hold them off, stating he would answer their questions when he was done. They did, however, view a few of the memories and were shocked over how Hydrus had suffered as a little boy, yet proud of the way he fought and won every obstacle.

An hour later, after telling the first part of his first life, Hydrus waved his hand indicating he was done for now and they could ask questions.

“Let me get this straight, Harry was to be raised by Petunia?” Lily all but snarled, leaning forward in her seat as if the answer would be better the closer she was to the source.

“Yes, but in Dumbledore’s defense, he truly thinks the blood protections would help him,” Hydrus said, not wanting them to hate the old man, just be wary of him.

“You said he knew the Dursleys would treat you badly,” Lily wasn’t buying it. She would do everything in her power to make sure that her Harry didn’t suffer the same horrid life.

“He did, but he also knew of the horcrux and felt the wards would prevent possession, it was the lesser of two evils,” the immortal said, holding up his hands to the angry woman. He knew that now, but at the time he really hated the old man for making him suffer. It had taken years of therapy to calm those wild emotions.

“Your life was in danger every year you attended Hogwarts,” she stated as a rebuttal as she folded her arms and looked sadly at the boy who was once another Lily’s son.

“I know, I was there and I am still a bit peeved at Dumbledore for that, but it hasn’t happened and my Harry had a very good life in school,” Hydrus said calmly.

That made Lily pause, they hadn’t gotten to that part of Hydrus´ tale yet, so she sat back, still fuming, and waited.

“Peter betrayed us?” the gobsmacked James asked, not wanting to believe any of the Marauders would do such a thing. He ran his tired hand down his face and took another shot of fire whiskey.

“You and Sirius,” Hydrus said firmly. “Remember he framed Sirius and my godfather spent twelve years in Azkaban.” The immortal really hated Pettigrew and no amount of counseling would help him get over those feeling. He was glad that Peter was one of the first he captured when coming back, though remembering that little man’s fate in the last timeline made him smile vindictively.

“Right, is he a Death Eater now?” the older Potter wanted to know.

“Yes, but, I’ve already taken care of him,” Hydrus said smugly.

“How?” James asked.

“I’m not going to tell you that,” the immortal said. “I want to give you plausible deniability,” he said with a smirk, using his favorite reason, which was the truth, to keep his secrets. “However, I will let you know that the headlines you’ve probably read were all true. I’m just not going to tell you who or how.”

That caused another silent conversation. Both the Potters had read the newspapers and they were reporting that several prominent people had gone missing. Now, he was telling them that he was somehow involved. Perhaps, it would be better if they didn’t know.

“Okay… is he dead?” Lily wondered out loud, hoping this version of her child wasn’t a killer.

Hydrus sighed, remembering all the times Remus and Sirius asked that same question in the last timeline. “I will say this now; I am not a ruthless killer. If I can find another way, I will not take a life, but, there are times when drastic measures must be taken.” His face got hard and he glared at his younger self’s mum.

“Okay,” she said slowly, not sure how to take that and exchanged another look with her husband.

It was then that Harry woke up from his nap, his cries muffled by the charm, but heard nonetheless, and she excused herself to go and get her son. Hydrus dropped the silencing spell and waited with James. She re-entered the room a few minutes later with a clean baby, who was cooing at the stranger. Harry held out his little arms and babbled.

“Well, he seems to like you,” the mum said in wonder. Harry, though a happy baby, usually took a minute to respond well to people he didn’t know. He never liked Peter, and now they knew why.

“I am him, mostly. He took to me in the last timeline too,” Hydrus said, tickling the baby under the chin and making him giggle. “He was always a happy child,” the immortal reflected.

“Right, I think you need to tell us about that,” James stated, taking Harry and setting him in his playpen, so the adults could talk. Lily went to the kitchen to get the one year old a snack to tide him over until they were done. She returned with a teething biscuit and after handing it to the tot, she sat back next to her husband, making sure she kept her baby in sight.

“First let me finish the first timeline. So, after the war the reporter I told you about, from the Triwizard Tournament, Rita Skeeter, decided that the world needed a new Dark Lord and I was it. It all started with an article…” and he went on to tell of the wizarding world turning on him once again, the goblins being their nasty selves, his ex-best male friend believing the rumors, his new best friend in George, Hermione’s undying faith, and what he did to destroy that world, while saving the Muggle-born and raised.

Another few hours went by, with a few breaks for the baby and nature, and when he was done the Potters were giving him looks that said they weren’t sure whether it was a great prank or whether he was a sadistic man. This of course reminded him, again, of Sirius and Remus from the old timeline and he sighed. “It took years of therapy, but I got over those vengeful feelings,” he said, hoping to ease the nervous looks.

“You went to therapy?” a somewhat doubtful Lily asked.

“I was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, of course I sought help,” Hydrus all but growled.

“Okay, no need to get defensive, I was just wondering, most men don’t get professional help,” the redhead said, holding up her hands.

“I made Sirius get the same treatment in my last timeline, but that is a tale for another day. It’s getting late and I’ve not received your vows yet. I really need those, so no one can get the story from you. I know you both know Occlumency, Sirius told me you learned it in Hogwarts to hide your mischief, so I don’t have to ask about that, but I do need you to swear you’ll never tell anyone, unless I agree,” Hydrus said, putting down his cup, gathering up the pensieve and looking his parents in the eyes showing he was serious.

“After what you’ve told me, I see no reason not to give one,” James said, giving a vow never to tell Hydrus´ secrets. Lily followed, if only because this man was her son… sort of.

“Thanks for that, now I’m going to leave you with a choice to make. Do you want to go into hiding with me, until the Dork Lord is taken down, or do you want to take your chances on having Sirius as your Secret Keeper? I can tell you that my wards are from the future and there isn’t anyone who can penetrate them, not even Dumbledore. My best friend was a genius and she invented some pretty nasty ones, not to mention my other friend who incorporated some really good defenses in them,” Hydrus said proudly, thinking of the first timeline’s Hermione and George and getting up from his seat. “It’s a big decision, so talk it over and I’ll be back tomorrow to finish my story.” 

The Potters rose as well and James shook his hand, “Well, I have to say it’s been interesting to meet you, Hydrus Black. I’ll talk with Lily tonight and we’ll make our choice, but I have to tell you, either way we chose, we will want you in our lives.” This was his son, for the most part, and he wanted to know everything about him. What he recounted today was unbelievable, yet there was truth behind his words and the vow went a long way in making the tale solid, not to mention the memories. He did a full body shudder at remembering his death, glad Hydrus came back to prevent it.

“I agree,” Lily said, giving the immortal a hug, making the man blink back tears, “no matter what we decide on, you will be part of this family.” Her thoughts echoed James’s.

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted,” Hydrus said, swiping the stupid tears from his eyes. He looked at the two young people and smiled. “Thanks, I’ll be back tomorrow.” And with that, after giving his younger self a kiss on the forehead, he headed out the door and went home.

Lily looked at James and the couple sat on the sofa. “Well, this has been an eventful day,” she deadpanned, glancing at her infant son. She wondered how much of Hydrus she would see in Harry now that the timeline has changed.

“Quite,” James agreed just as stoically.

Harry started fussing and the small family went about their nightly routine. James and Lily discussed the story the time traveler told them with fear, anger and a small bit of lingering doubt. After putting the tot to bed they once more sat on the sofa, holding hands and snuggling into one another for comfort.

“What should we do?” Lily asked softly, wishing she had asked Hydrus for that wonderful silencing charm. She vaguely remembered Severus doing the same charm, but it was after they had stopped being friends. She got a bit upset over how her former friend treated Harry’s future self, and vowed to make sure that didn’t happen again.

James sighed. He was still having a hard time getting over the betrayal of what he thought had been a good friend. His mind had been going over all of his memories of Peter wondering what they could have possibly done to make him turn on them. He got nothing. “I think we should hear the rest of his story before we come up with a final answer, but I also think I’d rather be behind wards that are strong enough to prevent Professor Dumbledore from entering. I mean, I still… well not trust, but respect the man. However, after what Hydrus told us, I’m not sure we can rely on him to protect us.” He leaned back and looked at the ceiling, his mind in turmoil.

“I will do anything to protect our son,” Lily growled. “Even if it means we never talk to that old goat again.”

“I know. I saw the memory of you dying, remember? I will also do anything, but I was wondering if Hydrus could put the wards on this house, that way we don’t have to uproot our lives.” It was an insightful thought, he loved this house it had many good memories. There was also the fleeting thought of moving back into the manor now that his parents were gone. But he was comfortable in this little cottage, so no, he’d leave the ancestral house for Harry.

“That’s actually a good idea,” she said with a playful smirk.

“Oi, I have good ideas,” James protested, tickling her in the ribs.

“I know you do, sweetheart,” she said, swatting his hand away. “Let’s let this go for now and go to bed. We’ll ask Hydrus in the morning and see what he says.” She leaned over and gave her husband a kiss that held promises of taking his mind off all his worries for the night.

James growled and deepened the kiss. Soon enough the two lovebirds were not thinking of anything but each other.

The next morning, Hydrus came after the small family had eaten breakfast. Lily answered the door and waved him in. She then put Harry in the playpen and sat next to James. The immortal settled in the same chair and waited for one of them to speak.

“We talked it over and want to hear the rest of your story, before we give any kind of commitment,” James said, breaking the silence.

“Fair enough,” Hydrus said with a nod and threw up a Muffliato. “Before the goblins threw me out of their bank, I made them give me an inheritance test. Seems some people left me their vaults, because I was the Boy Who Lived. There were three that weren’t family. One was from a man named Stonewall…” he told them of everything he found in the three vaults, the inventions, the time travel theories and the other useful and useless things. He then went on to tell them about how he changed to a Black, because Sirius asked him to, and came back and what he did in the second timeline. How he, Sirius and Remus had created a utopia for Harry. It was with a soft voice that he finished with, that he was the Master of Death.

“You’re immortal,” a wide-eyed Lily said, of all the things Hydrus told them that was the one that stuck out the most in her mind. She had heard the tale of the Three Brothers, but didn’t really know what holding all the Hallows entailed, but the one thing she did know was it made you immortal.

James, having grown-up on Tales of Beedle the Bard, also knew and stared at the other man in wide-eyed wonder.

“Yeah, it was kinda an accident and believe me when I say that, besides saving you, one of my greatest wishes is to be able to die. Death said it was impossible, but I’m looking into it anyway,” he answered as casually as he could. He had thought about looking up Grace in this timeline, and then he realized he was mentally over ninety years old, and the whole thing made him feel like a pervert. So no, he wouldn’t be doing that, besides it would hurt too much.

“Right,” James said, shaking himself out of his shock and mulling over the story about Hydrus’ accomplishments. He was a bit in awe at how mature Sirius was in that timeline and wondered if his friend would turn out the same now.

“We were wondering if you could put your wards up here,” Lily suggested, changing the subject. It was something that was going to have to be researched.

Hydrus smacked himself on the forehead. “Why didn’t I think of that?” he whinged.

“I think you just wanted us away from the house that holds bad memories for you,” the female Potter said softly, patting him on the hand.

“I guess so. Kinda selfish of me, but you could be right. Anyway, I can put those wards up and you will be safe. Who you choose to enter them will be up to you. I do recommend that it be as few people as possible, Sirius, Remus and if you must Dumbledore. Do you want to call Sirius and have him as your secret keeper? Or did you want to pick someone else?” Hydrus asked, getting up from his chair and pulling out the Elder Wand. There were other wards to be added besides the Fidelius and he was going to put them up now.

“Well, we were wondering if you would,” Lily said, putting her hand on his arm. They had talked it over after their lovemaking and both agreed that no one would think of them using this unknown man, who had given a vow to not hurt them. That did make her wonder why they didn’t make Peter take a similar vow in the first timeline.

“Me? But you just met me yesterday?” the immortal said incredulously, falling back into the chair.

“Yes, but you are the older version of my son,” she said firmly.

“Ummm, well, I suppose I could,” he stuttered out, still mystified at the request, then firmed his resolve and nodded. “Yes, if it will keep you safe, then that’s what I’ll do.”

“Right, let’s get to it then,” James said, clapping his hands together and getting up from his chair. The three of them went about erecting every ward Hydrus knew, and soon the house was impenetrable. James had Hydrus write two pieces of parchment with the secret and flooed his two remaining friends. He told them to meet him at the pub in Godric’s Hollow and gave them the secret. They followed him home impressed with the wards.

When Sirius saw Hydrus, he did a double take. “Who are you? You look like a Black,” he said, echoing his past self, unknowingly.


	2. Forming a Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to alix33, darrelldeam and Winter_Weasley, for looking this over. All mistakes are my own.

Hydrus laughed at Sirius’s question, he couldn’t help it; it was the exact same one that the younger Black uttered the first time he ever saw him as Hydrus. To the immortal this was funny, though it did make the other man tense. He tried to calm down his chuckling when he saw the affronted face on young Sirius.

“Oi, what the bloody hell is so funny?” Sirius asked, rather confused, yet angry at being mocked by a man he didn’t know. It wasn’t a stupid question. This guy did look like a Black.

“Nothing, nothing. Sorry, you just reminded me of someone,” Hydrus said, waving away Sirius’s indignation and motioning the two younger men to follow, James tagged along, wanting to see his friends’ faces when Hydrus was done with his tale. “I’ve got something to tell you. I’ve already told James and Lily and like them I’ll need a vow from you not to tell anyone.” He sat in one of the chairs and Sirius took the other, Remus took the sofa. James sat next to the werewolf with a smirk on his face. He couldn’t wait to see their reaction. Lily decided she had listened to it all yesterday and took Harry out to the garden; it would be one of the few nice days left in the season.

Remus looked warily at his messy-haired friend’s face. He knew that look and knew something was going on. He then looked at the unknown man and noted he had the same look. He had to wonder what could possibly put that expression on those faces, while they smirked like they were going to pull off a great joke, they also looked sage, it was a rather odd combination.

Sirius glared at both Hydrus and James, not liking being left in the dark. “What do you have to tell us?” he asked, folding his arms over his chest and huffed.

“First off, I’ve already taken a vow that everything I recount is the truth. You can ask James,” the time traveller stated, pulling the pensieve from his pocketspace, and like the Potters the two Marauders gasped. James nodded to confirm and looked pensively at the memory bowl.

“That was bloody wicked. What is that spell?” Sirius asked, leaning forward and waving his hand at the empty space above Hydrus left shoulder, “Can you teach me?” He sat back and bounced. He was eager to hear the answer.

“I call it a pocketspace, and, yeah I can teach it to you, but not right now,” Hydrus answered, looking at the excited man and smirked. _Just like Sirius from both timelines,_ he thought with a fond smile and then got serious. “What I’m about to impart is a bit more important. This is going to take a while, so why don’t we get some tea and snacks.” He looked at his father as he put some of his first memories of the two other men in the pensieve.

“Right,” James said, getting off the sofa and acting like a good host. He went into the kitchen and gathered tea and lemon cakes.

After everyone was settled with food and drink, Hydrus repeated his story with copious use of the pensieve, these two were harder to convince than the Potters had been. He left out being the Master of Death; they’d have to speculate on their own why he was still so young. It took hours and they had to stop many times for questions, emotional outbursts and nature. The fire whiskey was brought out and Sirius made good use of it, until such time as Hydrus took the bottle from him.

Lily had come back in the house during that time, but decided to take Harry to the nursery and play with him, after making lunch and handing out ham and cheese sandwiches and crisp. She made sure to take the bottle of whiskey away, not wanting a bunch of drunken men in her house.

“So, Reg was a good guy after all,” Sirius said sadly, mourning the loss of his brother. If only he had known, he could have prevented Regulus' death. He held his head in his hands and silently cried.

“Yeah, he saw the light, so to speak, and only wanted the downfall of Snake Face,” Hydrus said, patting the younger man on the back and then settling back in his chair.

The younger Black looked up and was sad for a few moments and then decided to direct that emotion to anger. He fully blamed his dear hag of a mother for making Reg turn to the Death Eaters, that hateful woman poisoned his brother’s mind. He was going to find a way to make her pay, until then there was someone else who needed to be taken down. “I’m going to kill that rat,” he raged, standing from his chair, only to be hit with a Petrificus Totalus. His arms and legs snapped together and he fell back stiffly on the chair. He looked like a human board that was resting on a piece of furniture. 

“You will not,” the immortal snapped and gave the other man a few minutes to calm down a bit and when Sirius got a confused look in his grey eyes, Hydrus let him go.

Both Remus and James looked on, not sure what to do, but they didn’t want Padfoot to do anything rash, not with the story they just heard. So they just watched, warily. Their hands on their wands, ready to protect their friend, but right now the petrifying spell was released, so they just stayed alert.

Sirius relaxed in his chair and gave the older man a defiant, questioning look. He sat stiffly and appeared to be ready to jump out of his seat and go rat hunting.

“First off, you’ll never find him,” Hydrus smirked knowingly, making the three other men exchange looks. “Second off, that’s what got you thrown in prison the first time. Haven’t you been paying attention?” he asked as he quirked an eyebrow at the hot-headed man.

“But, he betrayed us,” Sirius said, still befuddled as to why he couldn’t seek revenge. His anger needed an outlet, and since he couldn’t go after his mum he felt the rat would do.

“And he will pay, but not by your hand,” the time traveller promised softly. “Sirius, you have to understand that you are an important part of Harry’s life. If you go off half-cocked then you could disappear from his life and might create a void that can’t be filled.” While he wasn’t completely sure that would happen now that the Potters were safe, he wanted this man to start thinking. Had he known his godfather growing up in his first timeline, things might have played out differently. With someone there to take up his causes, well, he might have never been a time traveller.

“Right, so what can I do?” Sirius sighed in defeat, sagging in his seat. He wanted to stay in Harry’s life and would do anything to make it so. Even give up hunting the betrayer.

“I need you to go and talk to your grandfather. In both my timelines, he made you the Head of the House of Black. You need that to get the last two horcruxes. One is at Grimmauld Place; the other is in Bellatrix’s vault. Only the Head of the family can get them. Oh, and if he asks about me or Bellatrix, tell him you have no idea,” Hydrus said, not wanting a repeat of that confrontation. He knew his name appeared on the Black family tree and he knew he’d have to talk to Arcturus someday, but he was going to hold it off as long as he could. He still needed to get in touch in Marius and set up his past with him.

“You want me to go and talk to _Grandfather_ , but that man scares the pants off me,” the younger Black whinged. He knew he would do it, but he would hate it the entire time, so he pouted. “Not only that, but you want me to lie to him?” That frightened him more than talking to the old man. While he had no idea what happened to his cousin, the newspapers only said that she disappeared, he would still have to lie about Hydrus. Maybe his grandfather wouldn't ask, then he would be in the clear. _Yeah, right_ came the sarcastic thought. He knew his grandfather was a wise old man and sharp like a fox.

“It’s the only way,” reaffirmed Hydrus. “Don’t you want the Dork Lord gone?”

“Of course, I want You Know Who gone, but do I really have to talk to Grandfather? You broke into the bank once, can’t we do it again?” Sirius asked, almost eager for an alternative.

“No, that little adventure cost me the Potter fortune,” Hydrus stated firmly. Besides, he never stepped foot in Gringotts during his last timeline and planned on not going there —ever. He had already opened his accounts at Hellströms.

“Right, sorry, I forgot about that,” the dogman said sheepishly, then pulled his Gryffindor courage up and stated, “I’ll owl him tomorrow.” He would work on his Occlumency tonight and it would help him to pull the wool over his grandfather’s eyes. He hoped. “Besides, Mother will be right cuffed if he does hand over the Headship. I’d like to see the look on her face when that happens.” He got a vengeful look in his grey eyes. He really hated that vile woman, but knew better than to underestimate her. She was a powerful witch, but if Grandfather turned over the headship, well she would listen to the old man.

“Great,” Hydrus said with an encouraging smile and a pat on the back.

“So we died in your first… timeline?” Remus asked, just now coming out of his shock about all that this unknown man had told him. He still was unsure that what he had seen and heard was the truth, but James did confirm the man had taken a vow and the memories didn’t look fake, but he was a pessimist at heart, how society treated him because he was a werewolf saw to that. The memories of his other self didn’t reflect the man he was now. That man was more mature and less doubtful; maybe it was the death of his friend that twisted those emotions. He didn’t know, it was something to look into.

“That’s right, but you both were saved in my second one and went on to make great uncles for Harry and fathers for your kids. I never would’ve been able to raise Harry as well as I did without yours and Sirius’ help,” Hydrus said with a thankful look to the wary werewolf.

“I see,” was all the reply he got. Remus was deep in thought, like Lily he was confused as to why the world hadn’t imploded. Everything he had ever read on this subject said that it should have, the second Hydrus stepped into this house. But it didn’t, maybe it was because he truly wasn’t Harry Potter anymore. He would have to think more on that.

“Now, I need those vows, be warned I can and will wipe your memories of this day,” Hydrus stated, looking them square in the face, showing he meant business. It would hurt if he had to, and they would have to keep secrets, but still…

“No need for threats, I believe you,” Sirius said, holding up his hands in compliance. He took the vow willingly and they all turned to Remus.

“Your story is a bit hard to swallow,” the werewolf said, his voice laced with doubt, “however; you leave me with little choice but to comply.” Then he too took the vow, albeit reluctantly. He had no wish to be torn apart from his pack, and the look on the time traveller’s face said he would do that in an instant.

“Anyway, let’s get to something a bit more enjoyable,” Hydrus said, rubbing his hands together, a vengeful look on his face. “I have a way to nullify the Death Eaters. I’m sure you’ve read the headlines,” he added and looked at the faces of the other pranksters. “I’m not going to tell you how, but once they’ve disappeared, we can get into their houses and steal their gold, though most of it is still in Gringotts. However there may be some Dark artefacts we can pilfer.” He looked at the three men as if waiting for their protest, he wasn’t wrong.

“But, Dumbledore says…” Remus started, and then trailed off, remembering everything that happened in the first timeline. “I mean, killing and stealing are wrong,” he said instead.

“Right, I’m not killing them, I’m hiding them away from the public, people like Lucius and Bellatrix cannot be reformed.” He tapped a finger on the arm of his chair in emphasis. “They will _always_ be bad eggs,” Hydrus said determined to make them see something drastic had to be done. “As for the gold, we will be using it to better the wizarding world. We’ll leave the ones who have a family alone, or just dent their reserves and get the Dark items, and only take from the singles or families like the Lestranges who had no children, but are all nullified.”

“I am not sure I want to be a part of that. As a werewolf, if I get caught it is straight to Azkaban for me,” Remus stated nothing but the truth.

“We’ll leave you behind, not a problem. I do understand that and I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to. We’ll think of something for you to do,” Hydrus answered as kindly as he could.

“Well, I like it. Count me in,” Sirius said, clapping his hands together and grinning like there was no tomorrow.

“James?” the immortal asked with a lifting of his eyebrow.

“Lily won’t like it, but I’ll see if I can help,” was the answer as the husband glanced warily at the kitchen door.

“If you’re uncomfortable, me and Sirius can pull it off,” Hydrus offered. “Besides, it might be easier with just two of us.”

“Right, so we’re going to stick it to the bad guys,” Sirius quipped, a vindictive look in his eyes.

“Yeah, but we’ll have to do it at night when the families are asleep,” Hydrus said, looking around to see if Lily had come back from her cooking. He gave a sigh of relief when he heard her in the kitchen.

“Great, let’s get planning,” Sirius said, always eager to bring down Death Eaters, even if it was just taking their treasures.

“Wait, won’t the newspaper start reporting the robbers. You’re talking about some fairly well known people,” James said with a worried look.

“Yeah, but I have a foolproof plan,” the immortal smirked. He explained about his blasting gun and how it would help them get through any wards. Just as he finished and they started making plans, Lily called that dinner was done, so the four men went to the dining room and helped set the table. They ate a nice chicken and noodle meal and talked of mundane things. There was chocolate cake for afters and they all enjoyed this time, like they were one big family.

Harry, of course, made a huge mess, but Hydrus knew that that’s what babies did. He offered to clean the tot up and Lily gave him a thankful smile. The immortal took the toddler and gave him a bath and dressed him in some warm footie pyjamas. He then told him a bedtime story and soon enough Harry was asleep. He then went down stairs and sat in the same chair. “So are there any more questions about my past or are all of you convinced that I’m telling the truth?” he asked with a small yawn, a bit tired from the wonderful meal and very long two days.

“I know you’re being honest, but I do have a few things to ask,” Lily said, from her place next to James on the sofa.

“Shoot,” Hydrus said, making the pure-bloods look at him funny.

“First off, are you going to get together with Grace?” she asked, being the mother she was and wanting to see her sort-of-child happy, even if he was older than her. She knew that if it was Harry, she would not hesitate in trying to set him up with someone he loved. And from Hydrus’ recount, they had had a very good life.

“I loved my Grace, but, no, I’m too old mentally to carry it off again,” the immortal said mournfully, hanging his head at the memory of his dead beloved.

“I am so sorry to bring up bad memories, I just want you to be happy. Maybe you’ll find someone else,” his mum said, getting up and giving him a one-armed hug and thinking maybe she should write the Flamels. They would hopefully know a few immortals.

“Maybe,” he answered with a great amount of disbelief that this woman he hardly knew would want to see him married.

Lily got back up and went to her seat. “Another thing I’d like to know is, are you going to do what you did last time? Open the shops and everything?” she asked, wondering if she could help, but wanting to know what he was going to do before she offered.

“I’m not sure, I don’t want Pandora mad at me again, so I am weighing my options. I do need to make an income, but I’m trying to think of a way to let her help. Perhaps you can help me with that. I mean, you’re a woman and she might be more open to you,” Hydrus suggested, glad for the change of subject. “Maybe you can say you have an idea and that you need her help. Offer to make her a partner and open the store for the entertainment stuff, or even the appliances. Somehow I have to be involved, like I said I need to make an income, because until I find a way out …” he trailed off at those thoughts, remembering he hadn’t told the other two men he was immortal. “Anyway, I was thinking I could open a mall or something. I have tons of stuff to sell.”

“Why don’t you let someone else open the stores and you … I don’t know… maybe join the Aurors or go into politics with me and Sirius,” James offered, going over some things in his mind, bringing Hydrus’ attention back to the conversation.

“That’s only if Grandfather makes me the Head,” Sirius said, which though Hydrus said it would happen he was extremely reluctant about taking the position, except the part about aggravating his mother. Then he remembered that it would help everyone and sighed.

“Not necessarily,” the immortal argued, “the Black name carries a lot of weight in the Ministry, just like the Potter name. If we three start making names for ourselves, we can do a lot of damage control.” Other plans started forming in his mind. He could use this.

“Right, ‘gifts’,” Sirius smirked.

“I already have an account set up for that,” Hydrus smirked back.

“I don’t want to know,” Lily said, holding up her hands.

“I have another question,” Remus said, looking at the time traveller.

“Okay,” Hydrus waved to him in a go ahead manner.

“What are you going to do about Umbridge and Skeeter? Besides Mrs. Lovegood, they were your biggest foes.” The things the man did before didn’t sit well with the werewolf, and he didn’t want any part in killing.

“Well… no, I don’t think I’m going to tell you,” Hydrus said firmly. “I will tell you that they probably won’t be killed, but they will somehow be taken down. Those two are like Lucius; they won't give up on their ideals. Umbridge is a ruthless bigot who has no problem killing the Muggle-borns or the half-breeds. You really should hate that vile woman, it is because of her and people like her that you are repressed. And Skeeter is a vicious reporter, when I found her the last time she had the dirt on everyone important, and I do mean everyone, even baby Harry. I still have those papers in my pocketspace.” He ran a hand through his hair, thinking of how to find the elusive bug this time, then he remembered he knew her muggle address. He’d get her and these guys didn’t need to ever know. His brain was starting to hurt with all the thoughts and plans that kept running through it.

“I see. So plausible deniability?” the cautious werewolf asked.

“Yes,” was all the answer he got. Then Hydrus looked at his watch and stated it was time for him to get home. He shook the men’s hands, gave Lily a hug and left.

“Are we sure we can trust him?” Remus voiced his uncertainty. He looked at what he referred to privately as his pack and lifted his eyebrow.

“Merlin, man, he gave his vow and showed us his memories. What more do you need?” Sirius said, not sure why the werewolf was full of doubt.

“Peter also gave a vow and according to Hydrus he would have betrayed us. Vows are not foolproof,” Remus rebutted, ignoring the memories he had seen. He didn’t understand why his other self was so compliant.

“Yeah, but that vow Wormtail made was to an organization’s leader—easily averted. This vow was made directly to James— not so easily overcome,” Sirius said a hard note in his voice.

Remus slumped in his seat and he sighed in defeat. He really didn’t want to believe that Hydrus came from two different futures. To his scholarly mind it wasn’t possible. Everything said that the only possible time travel was the time turners, which only went back an hour or two and there were hundreds of rules you had to follow of which Hydrus had broken all of them. “I know,” he conceded, running a hand through his hair.

“I know how you feel, Remus,” Lily offered, reaching over her husband and patting the other man’s hand. “It took me the better part of a day to reconcile what I knew to what was proven different.”

Remus gave her a small smile, if anyone understood then Lily would, she was of like mind to his. “You´re right. Now the question is, what do we do with this knowledge?”

“What do you mean? We took a vow not to reveal Hydrus’ secrets,” James asked mystified, looking at his friend.

“No, I do not mean to break that vow, but we now have knowledge that could prove to be catastrophic if it got into the wrong hands,” Remus back-pedalled, not wanting his friends to think he’d betray anyone.

“Well, we could just keep it to ourselves, shore up our Occlumency and never write it down or speak of anything to do with time travel,” Lily answered, then got a thought. “Besides, we have no idea how he did it, just that only he can,” she pointed out, Hydrus had taken her and James aside and asked them not to reveal the fact that he was the Master of Death or immortal. They didn’t need to know and Hydrus said that something must be kept close to chest. He only told them because they were his sort-of-parents.

“You are correct; I am most likely worrying over nothing. I think I am just worn out from the events of today, so I am going to go home and sleep it off,” the werewolf conceded, again. He knew he was a worrywart and tried to not let it affect his friends; however, sometimes he just couldn’t help it. This was one of those times. He knew he should go home and drink some Dreamless Sleep or his mind would be a whirlwind of thought the entire night.

“Right, I’m knackered,” Sirius said, getting out of his chair and giving Lily a hug. He patted James on the back and said, “And I have a letter to write.” He gave a slight shudder at that prospect.

Everyone said their good nights and the group broke up, each going to their own beds, wondering what tomorrow would bring.

Meanwhile, Hydrus had made it to his own home and was looking around this living room. He had set it up much like he did last time, with the more modern telly, radio, computer and other sources of entertainment. There was a nice leather sofa, two Lazyboy chairs and a good size coffee table. All the colours were dark brown or black, with an off-white rug to complement. He had pulled out pictures from both timelines and they crowded the walls. He looked over to the empty space where Harry’s playpen used to be with a small smile, happy it wasn’t needed this time.

The immortal reflected on the last two days and was content about how they turned out. He decided he was going to relax with some video games and spent the better part of the night fighting for his avatar’s life. It was the wee hours of the morning before he got to bed.

The next morning the time traveller made a simple breakfast of dry cereal, giving the re-freed Tippy the morning off, and debated on what to tell the others today. He then shrugged his shoulders and figured he’d wing it. After getting showered, dressing in jeans and a T-shirt, and letting Tippy know where he was going to be, he ran a few errands and then made his way to the Potters. This time James answered the door, and with a welcoming smile, waved him in.

“So what wonders are you going to impart to us today?” James asked as he took a seat on the sofa.

Lily put Harry in the playpen and sat next to her husband, eager to see what Hydrus would do now.

“Well, I was going to give Lily a book-reader, but I don’t know…” the immortal teased.

“Oh, gimme, gimme,” Lily said, making grabbing motions with her hand, which made the men laugh.

Still chuckling, Hydrus called up two book-readers and a futuristic laptop. “These will help you in almost any research you need. I have downloaded all the books I’ve ever owned on the laptop and the reader has quite a bit of information as well,” he said, handing over one of the readers and the laptop. “There is a spell on both, so you can download from the laptop to the reader, and vice-versa. I will warn you however, if you put too much data on the reader it will slow down, I haven’t fixed that yet.” He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“What are they?” James asked with a curious look in his eyes.

Hydrus took up the other reader and motioned James to sit in the chair next to his. He then proceeded to show the pure-blood how to use the instrument; Lily paid attention so she could operate her own. The laptop lay forgotten on the table for now.

James’ eyes got a look that said there would be trouble for someone once he understood the device. He and the other Marauders didn’t make names for themselves by being stupid, no, they studied hard to get all their pranks and artefacts correct. He knew once Remus got his hands on this, there wouldn’t be anything they couldn’t do. Hundreds of ideas flooded his mind.

There was a knock on the door and instead of giving up their toys, the two Potters called out, “Come in.”

“How did you know it was us?” Sirius asked as he took a seat next to Lily, his eyes on the weird thing in her hand.

“The wards,” was the succinct reply. She never took her eyes off the reader. It was an absolute marvel and her mind whirled with the things she could do with all of this data. Right now, she was reading the rune array that made muggle electronics work with magic.

“Right. What are you playing with?” the younger Black asked.

Hydrus smiled at the Potters antics and answered, “That is a book-reader, originally invented in 1995 by a man named Frostwell. In the last timeline we got him to develop it sooner. I’m not sure what I’ll do in this one,” he said, running a hand down his face. Frostwell was his biggest competition in the last timeline, but it was a friendly one and he didn’t want to take that away from the man.

“What does a book-reader do?” Remus asked from his seat next to Sirius.

“Well, like the name suggest it holds books to read,” Hydrus said with a playful smirk.

“I see,” the werewolf said, nodding his head in understanding. “And that?” he waved to the neglected laptop.

Hydrus chuckled and suggested he trade places with James. After the game of musical chairs was over, he proceeded to show the closet Ravenclaw how to operate the computer. Sirius pouted.

“Now that Remus has a toy, I have something for you, Sirius,” the immortal said, pulling out a hand-held game.

“What?” the wary dogman asked, not wanting an educational device. Even though he was far from dumb, he usually let Remus and James do the researching, while he did the planning. He didn’t even want to think about Peter right now.

“Switch places with Remus and I’ll show you,” Hydrus enticed, waving the game around.

“Right, Moony, get up and let me sit there,” Sirius all but demanded the enthralled man.

“Oh, sorry,” the werewolf said and he traded places with his friend.

Hydrus proceeded to show Sirius how to blow up pixel aliens and left him too it, once he understood. He then got up, handed Harry the baby colour ball and the tot squealed and clapped with glee. The time traveller sat back and watched his new family engrossed in their new toys and smiled. This time was promising to be even better than the last.


	3. Win Some, Lose Some

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks goes to alix33, Winter_Weasley (who beefed up the fight scene), and darrelldeam for looking this over. All mistakes are my own.

The group spent an hour reading and destroying aliens, or in Harry’s case cooing and giggling at colors. Then Hydrus said they should start making plans, so everyone reluctantly put away their toys and paid attention to the time traveler.

“Right, so, I have a few ideas I want to go over with you guys,” Hydrus started, rubbing the back of his head. “Lily, I was wondering if you had any ideas about Mrs. Lovegood.” He turned to the redheaded woman.

“Well, I really don’t know her that well. I mean, we were in the same year at Hogwarts, but in different Houses,” Lily replied thoughtfully, all she knew about Pandora was that she was a bit flighty, a genius to be sure, but well, it well known that she and Xeno made a perfect couple because they were pea of a pod. “Do you need to set up businesses now?” she asked, bringing herself back to the conversation “Or should we wait until after the war? I mean, you’ve already changed the timeline so we don’t know when or how You-Know-Who will be taken down. I think we should worry about that first.”

James and the others nodded in agreement.

“You’re right, of course. I was always told you were the smartest witch of your generation,” the immortal said with a beaming smile, then let it fall to a frown as he thought over what she said. He really didn’t want to have to fight Pandora again, but he’d think of something. They were right Tom, had to be taken care of first.

“You said you have a way to take out the Death Eaters. Can you use the same method on the Dork Lord?” Sirius asked, taking up Hydrus’ nickname for Voldemort.

“I’m not sure,” Hydrus replied. He knew he could get the Death Eaters, but would Tom fall for the same trap? He didn’t think so, and now he was in a quandary on how to get Voldemort in the open. He knew he was a match for the man, but Tom was not a Slytherin for nothing. “When is your next Order meeting?” he asked, looking at the men.

“Tonight,” Remus answered with a questioning look.

“Good, I need to know what Tom is doing now,” the immoral said and then explained who Tom was at the confused looks. “I need to see if he is acting differently with his inner circle gone.”

“We cannot spy on the Order,” Remus said softly, a look of betrayal crossed his face. “You should not ask us to. Besides, what about the vow?” he asked, a frown on his face. That and no matter what this man said, well, he respected Dumbledore. Even after a nights thinking he didn’t totally trust the time traveler.

“I’m not asking you to spy. I really don’t care what your group is doing. All I want to know is if Tom is in hiding or is he still leading raids,” Hydrus argued, wondering at the betrayed look. Neither of the other Remus’ had doubted his word after he had given his vows and shown them the memories. He had to wonder why the change.

“We can do that,” Sirius said, cutting a glare to the werewolf.

“Lily, there is something you can do,” Hydrus said, changing the subject, but casting a worried look at the man he used to respect. “I need you to see if you can get Snape out of the country. I don’t think he’s gone to Dumbledore yet. In my timeline, it was about a month from now, right before you guys were attacked, which was why you were put under the Fidelius in the first place. I thought about this all last night and I know I can’t use the same reasoning to get him to leave. However, I can give you a crystal, money and a watch. The crystal has a spell on it to release the Dark Mark and the watch will change his appearance. Well, you know what the money is for,” he explained, pulling said items out of his space.

“Now, wait, just a bloody minute,” James said angrily, sitting up in his seat and glaring at the older man. “What makes you think I want my wife around that Death Eater?” he snapped. He didn’t want his wife anywhere near that man. Especially after seeing what a horrible man he turned into.

“And what makes _you_ think you can control what I do?” Lily snapped back, smacking him hard in the chest, making everyone turn to her. She had been going over all she learned about her old friend, and felt pity for the life he led in the first timeline. Oh, she hated the petty and bitter man he became, and if she could save him from that fate, she would.

“But, Lily, it’s Snivellus,” her husband whinged, rubbing the sore spot. Sirius was nodding in agreement from his chair. Remus held his tongue.

“I know, I’m only thinking of Harry,” she hedged, mostly true. “Remember how he acted in Hydrus’ first class? Do you want that repeated? If we can get him gone, then Harry never has to meet him. I can do this James. He was my best friend.” She turned her determined face to her husband, showing that she was serious.

“Fine, but I don’t like it,” he accepted with a pout. She patted him on the hand and turned back to the immortal and lifted an eyebrow.

“Right, now that that is settled, he still lives where he did when you were growing up,” Hydrus said, making her wrinkle her nose. “I think you’ll have an easier time making him go. I’ll leave it to you what to say, but if you have to, tell him that the prophecy is about you and your family and that you know he’s the one who spilled it to Tom.” He hoped it didn’t come to that, as it was information that the Potions Master really didn’t need to know.

“Yeah, he is the one to told on us and got us killed twice,” James said triumphantly, pointing a finger at his wife.

Lily just gave him a _look_ and he quieted down with a fearful appearance.

Hydrus handed her the watch, the crystal and the Mokeskin money pouch. “The watch will change his appearance, last time it was pretty drastic. But first, hold the crystal over the mark and say ‘activate’. It will say a spell in parseltongue, so don’t freak out. It might make him weak, but the mark will be gone. Keep your wand at the ready, I don’t know how he will react. Do you think you can handle that?” he asked, worried that Snape would try and talk this woman into leaving with him. It won’t work, she loved James, but it might make her think that her old friend had reformed. One thing you could say about Snape, or any Slytherin, they were smooth talkers, well except Draco and his cronies.

“You have an invisibility cloak, right?” she asked, though she did pity the man, she didn’t trust him. He had taken the Mark in the first place.

“Yes, I have a few,” he answered vaguely, not wanting the non-Potters to know he had a Deathly Hallow.

“Give one to James, his is with Dumbledore. I can sneak him in with me and, if need be, together we can take care of Severus.” It would make James feel better if he had her back.

“Right,” Hydrus said, calling up a cloak and handing it to James, not the real one of course, but a mundane one. The Deathly Hallow stayed with him at all times. He wasn’t even sure it would work with anyone else. “You can keep this one,” he told the younger Potter.

James took the article and fleetingly felt the loss of his family heirloom, but understood that it was a Deathly Hallow and really didn’t want to have that curse fall on any of his family. One immortal in the family was enough. “Thanks, Dumbledore has mine,” he added as an afterthought.

“Let me get some portkeys made up for you guys. If you get injured in a spell fight they will bring you here.” Hydrus took out some of his portkeys and programmed them to bring them inside the wards, if they got hit. He handed a bracelet to each of the Potters and watched as they put them on.

They took them with a grateful look as they placed them around their wrist.

“Sirius, did you write your grandfather?” Hydrus asked turning to the younger man and hoping to move some plans along. They really didn’t have much time. He reached out and took a sip of tea.

“Yeah, but I haven’t heard from him yet. And I don’t expect to for at least a week,” Padfoot replied, sulking that he had to talk to the man at all.

“Right, Remus, do you actually know any other werewolves?” the immortal asked, turning his attention to Moony.

“Yes, Albus has me talking to them. There are many that are joining the Death Eaters ranks,” the werewolf answered a bit sadly, knowing that bit of information wasn’t secret. He had talked a few into remaining neutral, but You Know Who was making some pretty impressive promises to them.

“Right, that’s too bad, they did that in the second war too,” Hydrus confirmed with a nod, making a mental note to make some silver bullets for his gun.

Everyone sat silent for a minute wondering what to do next. The happy moments they shared this morning gone, except little Harry still cooing over his color ball.

“When did you want me to talk to Severus?” Lily asked, breaking the silence, a bit nervous about what was going to happen when she made the offer. Severus had changed a lot since Hogwarts; he would’ve had to, to become a Death Eater.

“The sooner the better,” Hydrus replied, glancing between the couple. “I’ll leave it up to you.”

They held another silent conversation. “I think we should get it done as quickly as possible,” James said, standing and taking Lily’s hand, pulling her up. He then gathered the cloak and made sure his wife had everything.

“Okay, will you guys watch Harry? I know you have experience, Hydrus,” she said with a small smile, trying to relieve the tension.

“Of course, I will,” the older Black answered with a smile of his own.

So the two Potters left and Lily side-along Apparated her husband to the park that divided her old neighborhood from Severus’s. When they appeared, she started down the street to where she knew he lived.

James looked at the shabby side of the park with a grimace. “Snivellus lives here? I should’ve known,” he sneered. He always knew that man grew up poor, it was one of the things they teased him about, but this neighborhood looked like it should have been torn down years ago. He didn’t know if he could ever live in such squalor, yeah he was a bit full of himself.

“James, stop being a prat, put on the cloak and silence yourself,” she ordered as they got closer, ignoring the comment. She always hated that condescending tone.

James did as she asked and the two went up the walkway to where the wards stopped them. Lily pushed on the wards to let Severus know she was there.

Snape opened his door; wand raised and almost dropped it when he saw who was there. “Lily! Merlin, what are you doing here?” he asked in an awestruck voice, completely out of character. Never in a million years would he have thought to see this woman at his house, let alone unaccompanied, and it caught him flat footed.

“Severus, you look well,” she replied a bit surprised and he did. His hair was clean and his robes were well made. Being a Death Eater must pay well… or something. She might not have such an easy time convincing him.

“You do as well, Lily. What brings you here?” he asked again, looking around the neighborhood trying to see if she brought company.

“I have something important to tell you, well, offer you,” she said in a gentle voice. She gave the man a fond look, hoping that would help her along if he didn’t think she was a threat.

He waved his wand and dropped the wards. Then he held open the door and said, “Come in.”

James pressed against her back, making sure she knew he was there. They made it into the house before Snape erected the wards again. Lily sat in an armchair, while James stood behind her, his hand on her shoulder.

“To what do I owe the pleasure? Not that I’m not happy to see you, Lily, but your being here could get me killed,” Snape said, taking a seat on the chair across from her. He had a hopeful look in his eye, like she had left Potter to join him. His hopes were dashed when she spoke.

“Just like you telling the Dark Lord a prophecy that could get me and my family killed. I think we’re even,” she said softly and took a bit of pleasure when his face drained of what little color it held. It was because of her childhood friend that she and her family were in hiding, so yeah, she was glad to see him in shock.

“How, pray tell, did you know about _that_?” Severus asked as his voice carrying across the room, and his mind whirled over that fact and that there might be a traitor in their midst. Maybe that pitiful rat, who went missing with the others. Oh, he felt the displeasure from his Master, being the only one in the inner circle that had not vanished. Hours were suffered under that animal’s wand. He had to show the Dark Lord that he had nothing to do with the disappearance of the others. It had been a painful experience.

“I have my sources. Look, Severus, I have an offer for you. I have a feeling that you don’t like being a Death Eater, the man I remember wouldn’t,” Lily said as friendly as possible, shivering slightly at the tone. Severus always knew how to make his voice carry, no matter how softly he spoke. “I have something that will take the Mark off you. I can hand you a device that will help you with a disguise _and_ I can give you enough money to leave the country.”

“I chose to be a servant to my Lord,” Snape said with a sneer, losing all the friendliness he held before, all thoughts of running away together were gone. However, just the thought of leaving the country while she lived made him bitter. Plus the fact that she seemed to want him to disappear didn’t help.

“Please, Severus,” Lily begged, taking out the pouch and laying it in her lap.

“What makes you think I would leave him?” he asked, glancing longingly at the bag in her lap, and then firming his face. He did want to go, he hated being a Death Eater, there was no power to be had from it, but he was unsure of Lily’s motives. He would have to find his own way. He had plans.

“I was really hoping you would. I just want give you the means to get away,” she said as gently as she could, putting hope into her voice. “You are my friend.”

James gripped her shoulder when Snape took on a hostile look. He drew his wand and was ready to fire at any second.

“You gave up our friendship years ago,” the dark man sneered, looking down his long nose. “As I recall, I apologized to you many times and you snubbed me each and every time. So what has made your heart suddenly feel different, _Mrs. Potter_?” Snape spat out the name as if to remind the woman before him that she was the wife of his enemy. To him that was her greatest betrayal. Oh, he would always love her, but he may never forgive her.

“Severus, please, I didn’t come to fight. I have a solution for you,” she reiterated, holding out the Mokeskin bag. “It is up to you whether you take it or not. I’m not going to force it on you,” the redhead all but begged. _Why would he not want this?_ was the question in her mind.

“No, I believe I will take my chances with my Lord. I think you should leave now, _Mrs. Potter_ ,” was the snide comment back.

Lily deflated and dropped the bag as James firmed his hold on her shoulder. She got up and whispered, “This will be your only chance.” Praying he would listen.

“Leave,” Snape barked, not moving from his seat. His hands gripped the arms of the chair and his face morphed with betrayal.

Lily debated for a minute about leaving the pouch, but the look on the dour man’s face made her take it with her. She tucked it back in her robes and made for the door, James pressed on her back.

“I’ll miss you, Severus,” she said as the door closed behind her. And the two Potters left. They made it home and told the other three what happened.

“Well, damn, that didn’t go as planned. I thought for sure that if it came from you he’d jump on it,” Hydrus said, rubbing the back of his head. He knew now that there was no chance in getting Snape to leave. He’d have to figure out what to do with the greasy git. “So, why didn’t you just drop the bag in his lap?”

“I thought about it, but he probably would have burned it,” Lily said sadly, hurt evident in her voice, and a few tears escaped her eyes.

“So, what do we do now?” James asked as grabbed her hand. He knew that little scene had been hard on her, and she was going to beat herself up for it. He only hoped that Hydrus would somehow rid of that overgrown bat.

“I really don’t know. Like Lily said, the timeline has changed. Tom can’t get to you guys, so…” he trailed off. Then he remembered something vital—Neville. He jumped to his feet and started shouting, “James, Sirius, Remus, we have to get to the Longbottoms. NOW!” He had a bad feeling about this, like time was running out.

“What? Why?” James asked as he too jumped to his feet.

The other two men followed and looked around to see what caused the time traveler to spring up like that.

Lily looked at the oldest Black and then at Harry, the color drained from her face, “Neville,” she whispered, now very concerned for the Longbottoms.

“The Prophecy,” was the succinct answer as Hydrus ran from the house. Then he stopped; he had no idea where the Longbottoms lived. He turned his desperate eyes to his father.

The three Marauders had looks of stunned horror on their faces. James nodded his head and took Hydrus’ arm and apparated him to the Longbottom manor.

The wards were down; screams and maniacal laughter were coming from the house. The four men ran as fast as they could to get to the fight. They belted through the destroyed door and followed the sound of pain, pounding up the stairs to the nursery.

They got to the room and saw six Death Eaters and Tom. Two of the minions were holding Alice and Frank under the Crucio. Neville was screaming in the background, calling for his mum. Voldemort was standing back laughing at their plight. His bone chilling cackle filled the room, making Hydrus want to hurt him more.

Hydrus had to wonder why Tom was attacking now and why he wasn’t just killing them, like he had the Potters in the last two timelines. Maybe he didn’t really feel Neville was the prophesied one as and was trying to find out where the Potters were. He turned his wand to the Death Eaters that was attacking Alice and fired a Reducto and bringing up a strong little brick wall around Alice and Frank in quick succession, then turned his attention to Tom and let out a string of offensive curses. Surprised the Dark Lord snarled, batted them away and started fighting back, not paying any attention to the Death Eater’s body falling on the ground next to him - headless.

The Marauders jumped into the fight, driving the Death Eaters away from the Longbottoms. Using the element of surprise they managed to stun one of them but the other ones quickly pulled up a shield. For a moment they seemed as if they weren’t going to fight but when their companions head fell in between them they retaliated with spells as brutal as they could get.

Neville cried louder.

Hydrus kept up his attack on Tom, his spells borderline dark, mostly darker grey, spells that would kill. There was no way he was going to go with stunners, like the Marauders were doing. “Curse to kill or maim,” he shouted to his allies.

Then they started with the more offensive spells. If anyone had been watching the fight they would’ve be able to tell that this wasn’t the first fight they fought together and if they didn’t know it was a fight for life and death, it could’ve been called a beautiful performance. Sirius and James stood to either side of Remus. While they were shooting curse after curse at the remaining death eaters, Remus was keeping a shield up around them and Alice and Frank, who were still on the ground, shielded by the brick wall.

Next to them, Hydrus and Tom dueling, curse after curse bombarded Tom’s shield and soon he was backed into the corner. The whole room was destroyed with everything being used to block and attack.

The immortal had learned a lot from his previous timelines training and was giving the Dork Lord a good run for his money. However, he was sorely out of practice, years of peaceful living had made him soft. He managed to hit him with a cutting curse in his wand arm, but Tom seemed to be ambidextrous. He cursed the fact that he couldn’t get past the Dork Lords defensives.

However, he, unlike the man he was fighting, truly couldn’t die and so he was far more reckless in his defenses and assaults, banishing things, ducking and throwing every curse he knew at him. He also kept trying to transfigure the Dork Lord, as well as kill him, but the damn man wouldn’t stand still. If he could get him into a rock and hide him in his pocketspace then he could find the rest of the thrice-damned horcruxes and be done with this.

“I don’t know who you are, but you should join me,” Voldemort said in a sophisticated voice, which was very out of place considering where they were and what they were doing. “I will give you power, more power than you’ve ever known,” he offered the man he was currently trying to kill.

“Yeah, right, give it up, Tom, I will never join you,” was Hydrus’ comeback as he threw a Reducto at his nemesis head.

Voldemort’s eyes narrowed at the name, making him look more dangerous than he already was, and he threw the Killing Curse that the unknown wizard, who brought a bit of the wall down to intercept it. He was good, very good, not enough to defeat the Greatest Wizard ever, but he seemed to be holding his own. “Who are you?” he asked.

“Your worst enemy,” was the snide answer as Hydrus threw a slicing curse to the man’s head.

Then suddenly James was there, and he stood by Hydrus’ side and the two of them continued to barrage Voldemort with curses. Hydrus was glad to see that his younger self’s father was finally taking the fight seriously. The immortal again tried to transfigure the bastard into a chamber pot, but Voldemort banished a piece of the broken wall in front of the spell.

Remus and Sirius were holding their own against the remaining Death Eaters. Frank was up and had their backs. Alice was still curled on the floor, covered in debris of the wall that had shielded her and her husband from the fight and any stray flying Unforgivables. Neville was in a cupboard, hysterically crying and screaming for his mum. They had to ignore him for the time being and continued to fight and with a well-placed stunner from Remus, another Death Eater went down.

Voldemort, seeing his men were losing, snarled and portkeyed away, after calling them fools and swearing retribution.

Hydrus sniffed annoyed, he had always known the Dork Lord was a coward, letting his minions do most of the fighting. For someone who thought he couldn’t die, he gave up very easily. 

Hydrus hurried to Alice and made sure she was still sane while throwing a powerful shield. “Mrs. Longbottom, are you well enough to get up?” he asked the shaken woman.

“Yes, I have to protect Neville,” the blonde woman stated firmly, her body still wracked with the shakes.

So, he helped her up and rejoined the fight. For a few more seconds, curses flew around the room and items moved to block them. The Longbottoms were now joining the foray and giving back the best they could, determined anger etched their faces.

Very quickly another Death Eaters died and one was injured enough not to continue. One got smart enough to follow his Lord and portkeyed out of the room. The rest were bound and the Aurors were flooed.

_Two dead, three captured and one got away, not bad. Too bad we didn’t get Tom this time._ Hydrus was thinking as he kept his wand trained on one of the captured minions.

Alice ran and got her son who was still screaming hysterically while Frank, with the other four men, stood guard over the three that were still alive.

Soon enough the red-robed wizards showed, questioned everyone, checked wands, and carted the Death Eaters away. The dead were portkeyed to St. Mungo’s. It was a long hour.

“James, Remus, Sirius, thank you for coming. How did you know?” Frank said, shaking all of their hands, pausing at Hydrus, who he didn’t know.

Alice and Neville were crying, one from joy that her family was mostly unharmed and one from fear.

“I’m Hydrus, Sirius’ cousin. Lily had a bad feeling and we acted on it,” the immortal lied, shaking the sandy-haired man’s hand. He was slightly winded and could feel a nasty cut on his back, which he was ignoring. One of the Death Eaters must have gotten him while he was distracted with Tom. He had stuff at home to take care of his wounds, and Tippy would look after him.

“Women’s intuition,” Frank said with a knowing nod, buying into the story. He went over and caught his wife and son in a firm embrace. “Tell her we are thankful.”

“Frank, Hydrus here has some pretty wicked wards. He invented them himself and we can put up the Fidelius charm for you,” James offered, looking over to Neville and Alice meaningfully.

“And how much will you charge for these wards?” the Longbottom male asked, knowing nothing was ever free unless it was ill intended, especially during times like these.

“One hundred Galleons, that’s the price I’m going to charge when I set up my business. It’ll be the going rate for the complete package,” Hydrus quoted. It was a reasonable price to keep ones family safe. “You are more than welcome to be my first customer, and to tell others about them,” he smiled like a business man.

“Eighty, that’s all I’m willing to go,” Frank haggled, though he knew if this man said one hundred was the firm price, he’d pay it, but it never hurt to negotiate. “If they are any good, of course you’ll have my endorsement.”

They settled on ninety-two, money changed hands and then Hydrus started erecting the wards, using the Elder Wand, discreetly. He moved to the outside and put up the Fidelius and made James the Secret Keeper, since he too was in hiding. He then showed them what the wards would do and gave them all the proper warnings, like a good salesperson. The male Potter wrote the secret on a piece of parchment, so the Longbottoms could invite family in.

Frank and Alice, who was still holding Neville, were watching in awe. James was right; they were wicked wards. Both of their bodies were still vibrating with the aftershock of the curse and they felt as bad as they looked, if not worse.

The time traveler pulled out some pink potions, “This will reverse the effects of the Crucio. For this there is no charge, consider it part of you package.” He handed them to Frank.

“Where did you get it?” the sandy-haired man asked. Taking two of the vials and examining them.

“A very good friend of mine invented them. I’ve had to use them once or twice myself.” He shrugged as if it were nothing to be held under the pain curse.

“Thank you,” Alice said, still shaken from the spell and not wanting to leave the wards to get treatment. She took the bottle and downed it, making her tremors stop almost instantly. “Take it, sweetheart, it's brilliant!”

So Frank swallowed his and he too was better. “Thank you, Hydrus. If there is anything you need, any of you, we, the Longbottoms, will do our best to help.” He looked at each of his new heroes. 

“The fact that you are now safe, is all I need,” Hydrus assured them. He wanted to warn them about their Uncle Algie, but since the man hadn’t done anything yet, he left it alone. After a bit more thanks and consolidations, the four men left, weary and worn. They made it home and gave Lily the good news and then settled to talk some more.

“Those Death Eaters were not from… Tom’s inner circle,” Remus noted, looking to Hydrus.

“No, I don’t believe they were,” the immortal answered with a tilt of his head.

“Were they the ones that attacked the Longbottoms before?” the werewolf continued as he tapped on the arm of his chair.

“No, the Lestranges and Crouch Jr. attacked them the last two times. Well, just the brothers last time,” Hydrus wondered where this line of questioning was going.

“Now, do you understand why people should not mess with time?” Remus accused, pointing a finger at the oldest man.

“Are you telling me that attack was my fault?” the time traveler snarled. His hands clinched into fists until his knuckles were white, doing his very best not to hit the werewolf.

“I am saying had you not come back in time, they would not have been attacked today,” was the rebuttal.

“ _Remus!,”_ Lily gasped.

“No, he´s right,” he said with a solemn nod. “If I hadn’t gone back in time, the Longbottoms wouldn't have been attacked today. But, they would have been attacked after Lily and James _died_ and they would’ve spent their entire lives in St. Mungo’s,” he spit out pointedly, his voice laced with fury. “Are you telling me that would be better?” he glared at the werewolf as he leaned forward and got his Remus’s face, ready to deck the man.

Remus backed away, his face paled at the accusation and then he deflated. Hydrus was right, it wouldn’t have been better. He still didn’t feel it was a good thing to change the past.

“Right, now that that is settled, we have a meeting to go to,” James said, giving Moony a strange look. “Lily, are you staying here?” he asked his wife.

“Yes, after today’s events, I just want to stay home,” she answered as she kissed him on the cheek and then she gathered up Harry and took him into the kitchen to feed him. The men would get something at the meeting.

“I think I need to go as well,” the peeved immortal said, standing and saying his good-byes. He all but stomped from the house and Apparated home.

James gasped at the wound on his back and called after him, but he was already gone.

“I think you pissed him off,” Sirius said, turning to Remus.

“What came over you?” James asked.

“I have no idea… I was… I just… I really don’t know,” Moony said remorsefully. “I just cannot seem to get my head around the time travel. I did not mean to make that accusation; I have no idea why this time I am so different.” He rubbed his hand through his hair. His thoughts were rapidly running around his head, weighing all the ramifications of Hydrus’ actions, the good and the bad, and how it would go from here. There was just so much that could go wrong. “I want to believe it will all work out, but something is holding me back,” he offered.

“Well, I think you had better apologize to him, when you see him next,” Padfoot said with a shake of his head.

“Let’s go,” Prongs sighed. And the three Marauders left for the meeting.

Meanwhile, Hydrus made it home, but this time he was not a happy man. He had no idea what Remus’ problem with him was, and why this timeline was so different. Last time the werewolf just accepted him, now it seemed that he was going to defy him at every turn. He stomped up the stairs to his bedroom and took off his shirt, glad Lily hadn’t noticed. He lied when she asked if they were hurt, not wanting her to fuss.

“Tippy,” he called.

“Master Hydrus is calling Tippy?” the little elf asked when she popped into the room.

“Yeah, could you get the balm for cuts and put it on my back? Make sure it is the one for Dark curses, the purple one,” he asked softly. He was really glad she was here, he didn’t want to burden the Potters into looking after him. He was going to have to start to train more, that fight should have been over far sooner than it had been.

“Oh, Master Hydrus is hurt. Yous sit down and lets Tippy take care of yous,” she ordered and scurried to get the correct cream.

Hydrus chuckled at her antics and sat cross-legged on the bed, so she could reach his back. He was still mulling over the fight and why the timeline had changed so drastically. He didn’t care what Remus said, he was ecstatic that he saved his younger self’s parents this time. Now, the Longbottoms were under better wards and he could move on to getting that Snake Face.

Tippy came back in the room and climbed up on the bed. “Yous has a very nasty cuts, Master Hydrus. Is yous being sure this medicine wills be helping yous?” she asked as she spread the ointment, making him wince at the pain.

“Yeah, it is something I brought back with me. The cut will be gone by tomorrow,” the immortal assured her. Hermione, in the last timeline, had grown to be a wonderful Potions Mistress, though it was only a hobby to her.

“If yous is saying so, sir,” she said and continued to apply the salve.

“That feels much better. Thanks, Tippy,” he said when she was done.

“Yous is being very welcome, sir,” she squeaked. “Is there being anything else?”

“Can you make me a sandwich? Turkey and cheese,” he asked, not wanting to cook. “Perhaps some crisp and tea?” he suggested, he just wanted to eat and go to bed.

“Tippy can do,” she said and popped away.

Hydrus got up and changed for bed in a loose T-shirt and pyjama pants. He went to the dining room and ate the sandwich Tippy made. He reflected on how the day went and did not like these changes. He made plans to visit the Potters in the morning, but he was going to spend the afternoon Death Eater hunting. He would have to get together with Sirius about robbing the houses, but he wanted as many of Tom’s minions taken out before they go.

Those decisions made, he went to bed and hoped the rest of his group slept better than he would tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea where this chapter came from. Like I said I don’t have an outline for this story, so I guess there are going to be many chapters that just pop up. Remus may be a little OOC, but it just came out. Someone has to play the Devil’s Advocate, and he was always arguing with Hydrus in the last timeline, so I just upped his disputes. 
> 
> So now the Longbottoms and the Potters are safe, all I have to do it get the last two horcruxes and kill the Dork Lord. Then we can move on to what to do with the rest of the crew. Hmmm, shouldn’t be too hard, if battle scenes keep popping up in my muse, albeit poorly written. I’m hoping with practice they will get better. Anyone who wants to help with that is more than welcome to pm me. I am always open to good advice.


	4. Some Hot-headedness and Family Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Winter_Weasley, alix33 and darrelldeam for looking this over. All mistakes are my own.

The Marauders made their way to the Order meeting. It was being held at the Vance’s home, which was warded to the gills by Dumbledore. James made a mental note to ask Hydrus to put up the other wards. They met Frank, who was still a bit shaken from the attack, and they all walked to the house. Alice, like Lily, stayed home with her son, not wanting to leave the wards.  
It was a nice three story brick house, and James thought there might be a basement, but they were never really given a tour. The most they ever saw as the hallway and the dining room.  
“Oh, good, you’re here,” Emmeline said, when she let them in. “The meeting has been delayed a bit.” She ushered them into the expanded dining room and they all took a seat at the table. “Albus is running late.”  
“Thank you, Emmeline,” Remus said with a small smile. He was still getting over the happenings of today. It had been a long day and promised to be a longer night.  
“You four look terrible. Let me get you some tea, that’ll make you feel better,” their hostess said, heading to the kitchen and bringing back tea and pastries and serving everyone.  
“This is lovely, thank you,” James said, taking a cup and a flaky pastry.  
Others were at the table and everyone said their hellos and took drink or food. They all settled in to wait for Albus and held small talk. Alastor Moody, Emmeline Vance, Benjy Fenwick, Caradoc Dearborn, Dedalus Diggle, Dorcas Meadowes, Elphias Doge, Aberforth Dumbledore, the Prewett twins and Marlene McKinnon were all present. They had lost many and others were on missions, scouting information and trying to get allies.  
If this war didn’t end soon they might lose more, and Remus would be sent away again. His mission to reform the werewolves was important. Sirius and James were both tasked to help bring families to the Order. However, that was a rather hard task since they couldn’t actually talk about the group.  
The Headmaster came sweeping in with his bright colored robe, and took his seat at the head of the table. “We seem to have another vigilante or a Dark Wizard trying to gain control,” he started with no preamble. “I am unsure whether it is one or more people,” he added rubbing his beard. He really hated when he didn’t know what was going on around him. He could not plan what to do with his group if someone was undermining his order to not use deadly force.  
“Why do you say that?” Alastor asked, his eyes roaming the table as if one of them was said person.  
“It appears that the entire inner circle has disappeared, I am sure you have all read the newspapers,” Albus answered, still stroking his beard, not a twinkle in sight. “As we do not know who is doing such a thing, I feel we should stand on the better side of caution and assume it is a Dark Wizard or more.”  
“Why would you think he or she is Dark? That doesn’t make a lick of sense. I mean, if they are taking down You-Know-Who’s supporters, doesn’t that mean they are on our side?” someone stated.  
“I have my sources, which I will not reveal at this time,” the Headmaster said knowingly. His source at this time was one of the Aurors he was trying to recruit into the Order.  
“If there are no attacks on us then I’m not sure I can agree with that this is the work of a Dark Wizard, Albus,” James reiterated. He knew it was all Hydrus’ doing and he was positive the immortal wasn’t Dark, Grey maybe, but not Dark. He knew that the immortal was only putting these people out of commission. “For all you know, he’s just got them locked up somewhere,” the messy-haired man offered.  
“Still, until we know better, we will be vigilant in our actions,” was the gentle rebuttal.  
There were nods and disagreements all up and down the table as the Order hashed out whether or not this was a good thing.  
Dumbledore fired off his wand to regain silence and order and then looked at the male Potter. “James, I am so happy you could join us today. I was trying to reach you and found that I could not remember your place of residence,” Albus said with a smile, changing the subject. He had been trying to get the Potters under wards because he was quite positive that little Harry was the prophesied child.  
“We, Lily and I, put the house under the Fidelius,” the young man answered the unspoken question, casually taking a sip of his tea, as if it was a completely normal thing to do.  
“Ah, then you can have your Secret Keeper come and inform the Order as to where you are.” It was more of an order than a question.  
“No,” James said slowly, placing his tea cup gently on the table, “I don’t think that’s a good idea. We found out two days ago that Peter is a Death Eater and was spying on the Order. I think your vigilante took him down. If he had not, then it is a good possibility that Peter would have given up our secrets. So, no, I think we’ll keep it to the few who already know.” His face took on a defiant look.  
“Constant Vigilance!!!” Moody shouted as he slammed a fist on the table, making the tea cups rattle and everyone jump. They all glared at the paranoid man. “Good for you, Potter.”  
“Yes, thank you, Alastor. Now, James,” Albus said in his best grandfather voice, his twinkle going full-force, “it is a pity to hear about Peter, but I assure you that everyone at this table is trustworthy.” He was wondering how he could have missed the fact that shy Peter was a Death Eater. Wouldn’t his vow to him have rendered spying useless? It was something he was going to have to ponder on.  
“No, Professor, I won’t be asking my Keeper to tell anyone. Not even you,” James said firmly.  
Protests were heard until Albus held up his hand. “Now, James, be reasonable. Do you not trust us?” he asked kindly, though there was conniving in his pale blue eyes.  
“No offence to any of you, but the charm won’t work if too many people know the secret,” James said as he looked around the table and gave a small smile to everyone, then turned back to the leader, once more taking a stoic look. “We’re keeping it to our Keeper and a few friends.”  
There were various nods of agreements and reassurances that they were not offended. Although a few protested, stating that Albus knew best. A small argument ensued.  
Frank was looking at him strangely, wondering why he was not revealing Hydrus. There must be more to the man than he knew and that made him decide to also keep his secrets to himself. “I have something to report,” he said, trying to take the pressure off of his friend and savior.  
Everyone perked up at that and stopped arguing. There wasn’t often that someone had something new to say. Hopefully it was good news.  
“Yes, Frank,” the Headmaster turned to the sandy-haired man, letting it go for now. He was sure he’d get the secret sooner or later, after all he was the leader.  
“My family was attacked by You-Know-Who today,” he said bluntly.  
Gasps were heard around the table and one of the men fainted.  
“Merlin's beard, were you really? How did you manage to escape?” Dedalus asked with awe in his eyes. Not many defeated or ran off You Know Who; though both the Longbottoms and the Potters were known to have fought the man off three times.  
“Yes, Frank, tell us how you won. Was Voldemort hurt in any way?” Albus asked, ignoring the gasps.  
James narrowed his eyes, according to Hydrus there was a taboo on the name, why would the Professor take such risk? Was he so confident that he could protect everyone in this room if the snatchers showed? He fingered his wand and was alert, when no one popped in, he had to wonder if Albus had put up wards to prevent the Dork Lord from hearing the name. Still, why risk it?  
“These men,” Frank waved to the Marauders, “and one other came to the rescue.” He gave them a beaming smile and recounted the battle for the Order, not naming Hydrus. “You-Know-Who was injured, but I was too busy fighting to see how bad,” he finished his report. “Oh, and the other man has a cure for the Crucio curse, it stopped my tremors right away,” he added, thinking he’d promote Hydrus in any way he could.  
That cause excited mumbling.  
“Wonderful news, I must meet this young man. But for now, answer me this, how ever did you know, my boy?” Albus turned once more to James. While a cure was good news he had other things on his mind. He was contemplating on how this affected the prophecy, now that both the Potters and the Longbottoms had fought Tom four times instead of three. Would he need to turn his sights to someone else? But for the life of him he couldn’t think of any other families that fit the bill. Maybe since Lily was not involved in the battle, little Harry was still the savior. One more thing to meditate on.  
“Lily remembered that Neville’s birthday was the day before Harry’s and had a bad feeling about today. So we went to make sure they were safe and ran straight into a fight. Sirius’ cousin ran off You-Know-Who with my help,” he said, making sure he stuck with the story. The other two nodded their heads when the Headmaster looked their way for confirmation.  
“Sirius, I did not know you had a cousin,” Albus said with a curious note in his voice, once again asking a question without actually asking.  
“He’s a wizard born from one of the squibs,” Sirius tried to wave it off as unimportant.  
“Nevertheless, if he took on Voldemort and has a cure, I feel it is imperative that I meet him,” was the firm reply.  
“I’ll ask,” Sirius said.  
The meeting turned to information that was collected by the others. It was mostly that the Death Eaters they were stalking were gone and they had no idea how or why. Talks turned once again to the unknown vigilante. This seemed to confirm to Albus that it was a Dark Wizard trying to undermine Voldemort. He did not think it was Sirius’ cousin, since he had the new potion, but he would have to keep his eye on the young man.  
The group broke up hours later, with little accomplished, though Frank had to tell that his family was now hidden and he too was keeping his secret to just family.  
Hphphp  
It was late the next morning when Hydrus went to the Potters. He knocked on the door and waited. He had slept in, because his wound was healing, which was good. He hated going hunting while injured. So after waking up and showering, he dressed and grabbed a cup of tea. He let Tippy know he was going out and hoped Lily would feed him.  
Lily, with Harry on her hip, opened the door and gave him a huge smile. “Good morning, Hydrus. I trust you slept well,” she said as she led him into the living room.  
“Well enough, I suppose. It was quite a trying day yesterday,” he said as he sat in what he now considered his chair. He actually had a fitful night's sleep, what with the wound and yesterday’s events floating around his dreams.  
“Yes, it was,” was the sad reply. She was still feeling bad about Severus and hoped the man sitting across from her had a solution that didn’t involve death. “Do you know what to do about Severus? I would rather not see him dead,” she asked, echoing her thoughts.  
“I’m not sure, I thought for sure if the offer came from you, he’d leave. So now I’m up in the air about him. I have a few ideas, but knowing the man as I do, I’m not sure I can pull them off. Let me think on it some more,” he said, rubbing the back of his head.  
“Well, at least you’re trying,” she said as she patted his hand. “I’ll think about it as well and between the two of us we should be able to come up with something.”  
“Right, so today I’m going to redecorate your home. How big is the back garden?” Hydrus asked, changing the subject with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.  
“It’s about medium size. Why do you ask? And what do you mean ‘redecorate’? I like my home the way it is, thank you very much,” she said without bite, bouncing a fussy Harry up and down on her knee.  
“Well, I was going to empty my pocketspace, but I need a lot of room. I have things from the future, remember? I want to give some of them to you guys,” he answered, and then looked around. “Where is everyone?” he asked as if he just noticed they were alone.  
“James is still asleep; the meeting ran long last night. The guys are probably doing the same,” Lily explained, putting Harry on the floor so he was now standing by the sofa and trying to balance on his wobbly legs.  
“Do you want to surprise James or wait until he gets up?” the immortal asked, that playful glint still dancing in his eyes.  
“Oh, let’s spring it on him,” the redhead said, standing and picking up Harry, placing him on her hip, making him wiggle to get down.  
“Since your garden isn’t big enough, we’ll just rearrange your stuff. So living room or kitchen first?” he asked, looking around and trying to picture where to put everything.  
“There’s a telly, right?” He nodded. “Living room then,” she said decisively, all but jumping in place. She hadn’t seen a telly in such a long time, now there would be one in her house. She walked Harry across the room and put him in his playpen so he wouldn’t be in the way.  
Harry spotted his color ball and squealed; clapping his hands he crawled over and started changing the colors. Since he couldn’t really talk yet, he had to wait until the voice said the color three times for each change, but it was a nice soothing female voice so it was okay. He did get one color right and that was red, well, ‘ed’, but it worked, which made him giggle and clap his hands every time the voice said ‘correct’.  
“Do you want to expand the room or do you want to keep it comfy?” the time traveler asked his mum, who was watching him with a woman’s appraising eye, like he was a man and had no idea what he was doing.  
“I like the cozy atmosphere, so let’s keep it small,” Lily answered, glancing around the room to see what could be changed.  
“Right, here, let’s at least move the furniture around and then I’ll have a better working space on that wall,” her son said, pointing to the west wall and then shrinking said furniture and placing it where it was going to be when he was done.  
The two worked for about fifteen minutes and now the living room was a bit more crowded, but Hydrus did his best to keep it cozy. A flat screen telly and game system were on a stand, on the wall opposite of the fireplace; the sofa, chairs and coffee table arranged around them. The radio and weather clock were on one of the book shelves and there was now an alarm system set up for when they came from under the wards.  
Lily looked around her new family area and smiled in approval. “This looks great. Let’s see what you’ve got for the kitchen.” She grabbed his hand and dragged him into the other room.  
Hydrus smiled at her antics and when they got to the kitchen he looked around, nodded and went through the same motions. Shrinking and storing the cold box and putting in a refrigerator with stasis spell; it was much like a cold box, but prettier and had a water dispenser and ice maker.  
“Oh, I like all these shelves,” Lily comments, gazing in the device. “Is that a crisper?” she asked, point to the plastic drawer.  
“Yep, makes your lettuce crunchy,” was the immortals’ answer as he added a microwave and then explained what it did. He had to banish a cabinet to add the dishwasher with a counter space. He replaced the stove and then went to the mudroom and put in a washer and dryer.  
Lily cooed over the appliances, while magic was fantastic, there was something to be said about the softness and smell of clothes from a dryer.  
They were finally satisfied and retired to the living room. “Thank you, Hydrus, your inventions are a marvel. The dishwasher is a nice surprise,” she added.  
“Yeah, magic can do the dishes, but the dishwasher will be quieter and faster. And it’s spelled to fill and empty by itself,” he explained. Many witches loved the silence and speed of doing the dishes in the machine.  
It was at that time James came groggily down the stairs. He grumbled a good morning and stumbled into the kitchen. He was only half awake and didn’t notice the changes. He got to where the cold box had been and when he tried to reach where the handle always was, he missed. This caused him to blink and his eyes widened at the shiny box in front of him. “Lily, someone has stolen the cold box,” he called, frantic that someone broke through the wards.  
“Calm down, James, it was Hydrus,” his wife said, coming into the room and laying a hand on his arm.  
“Oh, why?” the messy-haired man asked as he looked around the new kitchen, not knowing what any of this stuff was.  
“Non-magical items work better than magical ones, well, once they’re improved by magic,” Hydrus answered from the doorway, Harry balanced on his hip.  
“Let me show you,” Lily offered and then went around the room and explained everything to her befuddled husband.  
He nodded in all the right places and took in the changes. He really hoped Lily knew what she’s doing, because he was completely lost.  
Lily started brunch, pancakes, toast, eggs, bacon and sausage, demonstrating just how much better the new stuff was. James watched her and agreed the appliances were easier and quicker. He really like that water dispenser on the new cold box, the water didn’t need to be spelled cold and the ice maker made his eyes go wide.  
They all sat at the table and talked of mundane things. After the wonderful meal was eaten, they took James into the living room and explained what the telly and gaming system were.  
“I’ll give Padfoot and Moony each one of their own. Sirius was really into gaming in the last timeline and if he doesn’t have his own system, he’ll be here all the time,” Hydrus laughed, remembering how hard it was to get the other man to go to bed some nights.  
“Right,” James said, not really paying attention, he was caught up in the non-magical news that was broadcasting the weather for today.  
Lily just patted his arm and took Harry for a nappy change and to clean the syrup out of his hair.  
Hydrus settled in his chair and pulled out a book-reader, going over some of the spells he wanted to use for the next time he took on the Dark Arsehole. While he was well versed in spell work, he needed to brush up on the more offensive ones. He was still berating himself over yesterday’s altercation. He really should’ve started studying when he came back. He knew there was still a war going on, but he wanted to find the Potters first. Now though, it was going to be studying and training in all of his free time.  
Lily came back down the stairs and went to the side of the room, trying to get Harry to say the colors on the ball. He was doing very well and she was proud.  
Soon enough Sirius and Remus showed and the werewolf looked at the immortal with a remorseful glance. “I am truly sorry I bit your head off yesterday,” he said, running his hand through his light brown hair, standing in front of the time traveller. “I have no idea what came over me,” he confessed. He had been thinking about it the whole night and had come to no conclusion. The only thing that put him on edge about the man was his complete disregard of the enemy’s life.  
“No worries,” Hydrus said, waving it away. “Just try and keep those opinions to yourself, or not around me.” He was still concerned about the difference in this Moony, but he would take it one day at a time.  
“I will try,” Remus said, taking a seat on the sofa next to Sirius who, like James, was completely enthralled by the telly.  
Hydrus gave a chuckle at the two and reached his hand in front of them and snapped his fingers. “I was wondering if there was anything you could tell me about the Order meeting,” he said when they turned their heads his way.  
“There really isn’t much to tell. We… ” Remus started only to be interrupted by Sirius.  
“Albus wants to meet you. Oh, and he thinks you’re a Dark Wizard,” the youngest Black said almost absentmindedly, turning his attention back to the telly.  
“He what?” Hydrus asked loudly, reaching over and turning off the idiot box. “What do you mean he thinks I’m a Dark Wizard? Explain. How does he even know who I am?” he asked, knowing they hadn’t gone against their vows or they’d be dead, but it did make him wonder.  
James looked at the affronted face of the immortal and quickly said, “No, not you specifically. He thinks whoever is getting rid of the Death Eaters is a Dark Wizard, though he was told about your Cruciato cure. I think that threw him off your trail,” he added, hoping that the man wouldn’t explode. He reached over and smacked Padfoot across the head for wording it that way.  
“Oh, yes, that’s so much better,” the time traveler drawled sarcastically and then sighed. “I’ll make sure I brew some up. You’re right he might not think it’s me. However, why on earth does he think whoever is taking down the inner circle is Dark?” That was confusing, if anything the Headmaster should be thankful that the enemy was being taken care of.  
“I don’t know. He didn’t say. He only said that whoever was taking them down must not be on our side,” Sirius said thoughtfully, rubbing his goatee.  
“That doesn’t make a lick of sense,” Hydrus said snidely with a shake of his head. “Sometimes I wonder if that old goat is senile.”  
“You should not talk about Albus that way,” chastised Remus, pointing a finger at the time traveler. “He is a great man.” He defended.  
“I never said he wasn’t,” the immortal snapped. “I said he was old,” glaring at the werewolf.  
“Albus is a great wizard,” Remus repeated with a glare of his own.  
“Yet he thinks I’m a Dark Wizard because some of the Death Eaters disappeared,” Hydrus argued with a quirk of his eyebrow. “Why does he think that? What proof does he have that the person doing this is Dark?”  
“Killing is wrong. Everyone deserves a second chance. I saw you kill two people yesterday, it makes me wonder just what side you are on?” the werewolf said, causing everyone to stare at him.  
Hydrus held up his hands to keep the other two out of the argument. Lily had taken Harry to the kitchen when voices started to rise. “Defending oneself and others is not murder. If I hadn’t taken care of those two then one or two of us would be dead or insane. Do you think those are better options?” the immortal snapped, his hand gripping tightly to the arms of the chair. “Besides, I told you the inner circle aren’t dead, just nullified.”  
Remus hung his head and shook it, not saying another word.  
Hydrus slashed his hand in finality and said, “Look, I’m not having this argument with you. You believe what you want, but keep it to yourself, and I’ll hold my comments as well.” He was remembering all the times he fought with the two dogmen about the Leader of the Light and morals and knew that while Remus was under his vow it would be fruitless to continue.  
“Fine,” was the sullen return.  
“So he wants to meet me? Why?” the older Black looked to the younger, glad to get back to the original subject.  
“Something about if you fought the Dork Lord and had a cure, then it was imperative that you meet,” Sirius paraphrased, glad the fight was over.  
“Whatever, I’ll meet him later. I’ve got stuff to do today. Lily,” he called to the kitchen, making her come to the doorway, “thanks for brunch. I’ll be back tomorrow.” He got up and left the house.  
“You did it again,” Sirius accused, pointing his finger at Remus, “you apologized, and then turned right around and argued with him.” He had no clue what was up with his friend, he and James were both under the same vow, but they both saw the flaws in Albus.  
“What the bloody hell,” James snapped in Hydrus’ defense. “He hasn’t done anything to you, Remus, why are you so defensive?” he asked, thinking along the same lines as Sirius.  
“Didn’t you hear what he said about Albus?” the werewolf questioned, confused as to why his friends were mad at him. “And like I said, he killed two people yesterday.”  
“After last night’s meeting, I’m a bit inclined to agree that the old man is slightly off his rocker. You know there is a taboo on his name, but Albus keeps saying it, even in areas best left hidden. So, yeah, the headmaster is a great man, but he does some barmy shite,” the messy-haired man argued back, poking his finger at his friend’s chest. “Plus, if it hadn’t been Hydrus’ wand that had taken care of those Death Eaters, it would have been mine. Are you saying that I’m Dark now?” He folded his arms and glared as if to say he had better not think that.  
“No, of course not,” Remus said quickly, aghast that James would even think such a thing.  
“I was also throwing some pretty Greyish curses in that fight and I know, I’m not a Dark Wizard,” Sirius contributed, still miffed at his werewolf friend. “My family, notwithstanding,” he added with a wave of his hand.  
“Remus, you have to understand Hydrus saved our lives. We can never repay that,” Lily said softly as she sat on the sofa, shifting Harry onto her lap.  
“Fine, I will try and not fight with Hydrus,” Remus said, not wanting to get into it with pack.  
“Okay then,” James said, letting it go for now and settling down. “Lily, do you know how the… gaming system works?” he asked with pleading eyes.  
She just laughed and handed him the rule/guide book to Mortal Kombat.  
Hphphp  
Hydrus decided to take a bit of a walk before he went home, hoping the cool air would help. He took some deep breaths to calm down as he glanced indifferently around Godric’s Hollow. He didn’t really take in the scenic village, his mind was thinking too fast for that.  
He knew Remus’ problem was the vow, probably, and he also knew that the werewolf was completely against killing of any kind. No matter what his argument was, that man never changed that attitude. What he didn’t understand was the alteration. Was it the Potters death that caused the werewolf to be more placid? He didn’t know if it was the animal inside him that made him fight so hard or if it was just his natural state of being. Whatever it was, he hated having to defend his actions to those he considered friends. He really hoped that it stopped or at least dwindled like it had last time.  
After walking around the village for about a half an hour, he popped home. He went to the room he set up for meditation and went about doing some martial arts movements. An hour later his temper was entirely cooled and he decided it was time to get some Death Eaters.  
He changed into a pair of comfortable jeans and a tight, long sleeved T-shirt. Making sure he had his Cloak in his pocketspace, he popped to a wooded area where no one lived. Putting on the Cloak, he called out, “Voldemort is a pansy.”  
About three minutes later, five Death Eaters appeared with a ‘crack’, in their regulation costume of dark robes and masks. They were standing in a circle, wands drawn, looking around the clearing.  
“Where are they? I don’t see anyone,” minion number one said, his wand up ready to cast at the slightest movement. The wind blew and a tree was blown to smithereens by the twitchy man.  
“I don’t know, but we had better not come back without anyone. The Dark Lord will not be pleased if we return empty-handed,” minion number two said as he shot a curse to the nearest bush, like it would flush out who was hiding.  
Minion three did a detection spell to find out if there were wards in the area. “There are no wards up,” he called, glancing around the area.  
“Shields up, I reckon,” minion number four said as if he knew there was someone lurking about. His eyes taking in the empty woods and a chill ran up his spine. If he didn’t have orders to bring back whoever was defeating the Death Eaters, he would’ve Apparated away, but his Lord scared him, so he stayed.  
“We can’t cast if we have our shields up,” argued number five as he sent a bombardment curse to the nearest rock to see if anyone was hiding there.  
“Homenum Revelio,” minion three incanted, sweeping his wand around the area.  
Now if Hydrus had been under a normal invisibility cloak he would have been screwed, but The Invisibility Cloak could shield against any detection spells. It was designed to hide from Death after all.  
“There is no one here,” minion number two said, lowering his wand and heaving a sigh.  
“Someone said the Dark Lord’s name,” came the rebuttal from number three.  
“Show yourself,” said number five.  
Hydrus chuckled from under his Cloak, making the minions turn in his direction. He moved out of the area and cast a Stupify dropping minion number one, since he was the twitchier one.  
“I knew it was a trap,” number five said, firing off curses at where the spell had come from.  
Hydrus had to wonder why they were still reacting to the calling of that name if they knew it was only going to get them captured. He ducked one of the curses and silently fired off stunning spells and quietly moved around the area, so they never knew where he was. He got four of them and minion number five disapparated, leaving his comrades behind. He went up to the knocked out men and, using the Elder Wand, transfigured them into rocks and threw them over his left shoulder into his space.  
He did this three more times that afternoon, catching ten Death Eaters and then went home. He was still mulling over what to do with the minions as he ate a nice pork stir-fry. Maybe he’d decorate his garden with them or put them on display like he did with Peter, who was sitting as a shiny red marble on a small pillow, in his living room, on the bookshelf. He gave it up as a bad job and instead contemplated what to say when he met Albus. He was going to be a more prominent figure in the Ministry this time, if he took James’ advice, so he was going to have to play nice to the old man and continue to keep his secrets.  
He wrote a note to Marius and gave the man his phone number, stating that he needed to talk to him, making sure to explain that it would get back at the Black family if he agreed to what Hydrus had planned. The immortal would have to hold off meeting the Headmaster until he spoke with his not-grandfather.  
Hphphp  
The rest of the crew spent the day either reading or playing the pixel fighting or war games.  
Remus read from his book-reader, trying to research Hydrus. He read everything he could on time travel, not finding much to appease his conflicting thoughts. Everything he was reading only gave way for more questions- there were too many theories and not enough facts.  
Lily spent the day playing with Harry until it was time to cook dinner. She looked over her new kitchen and smiled. Putting Harry in his highchair with a sugar biscuit and some apple juice, she went about making Beef Wellington, marveling at how much time she saved using both magic and mundane ways. Magic was useful for the prepping, while the new stove and microwave cooked faster. Her thoughts turned to the businesses that Hydrus wanted to set up and how she could help.  
Playful banter came from the living room as Sirius yelled at James for killing his guy. They were having fun and keeping out of trouble, so Lily was thankful to her immortal son for providing such a distraction. Dinner done, she called to the men. James and Sirius had to be talked into eating; they were so engrossed in fighting one another.  
“So I take it you guys are happy with your new toys?” she inquired with a smirk as she put the dinner on the table.  
“Oh, yeah,” James agreed. “Those muggle games are wicked.” He scooped up some of the vegetables.  
“Only if you’re the one who doesn’t die all the time,” Sirius pouted as he took his share of the main dish.  
“Lily, muggles don’t really have weapons like that do they?” James asked, thinking of the war game he had played with his best friend and how they had weapons that would vaporize a man. It had been bugging him all day. The Wizarding World would be in deep shit if they did.  
“Well, not to that extent, no, but they do have some pretty damaging warheads,” she answered, giving Harry some mashed potatoes.  
“What kind of warheads?” Remus asked, taking some of the Wellington.  
“Well, there are bombs that can completely wipe out England,” she answered honestly.  
They all sat silent for a minute considering that bit horrific information.  
“Do they really fight like that? With their hands and feet?” Sirius asked excitedly, never one to keep a depressed atmosphere. “Can we learn?” His eyes lit up with anticipation that she’d say yes.  
Lily laughed at his eagerness, glad for the change in subject. “Yes, well, mostly, and yes you can learn. It takes years of practice and training, but there are men and women out there who can kill you with their pinky.” She smiled at their disbelieving faces.  
“You’re taking the mickey,” James said, not wanting to buy that.  
“Nope, it’s called Martial Arts and there are dozens of different types. Like I said it takes years to get that good, but they are out there.”  
“I want to learn,” Sirius said, bouncing in his chair.  
“You’ll have to leave your wand at home,” she warned. “And it’s hard work. You’ll be sore for weeks before you get to be any good.” She didn’t want him to go in blind.  
“I have to try,” Padfoot said with determination.  
“Alright, I’ll look up the nearest school tomorrow,” Lily said with a soft smile. “Did you want to go to, James, Remus?” she looked at the other two.  
“I don’t think such an aggressive sport would be good for me,” the werewolf sighed, thinking that what he saw on the games was real.  
“There are disciplines that are for relaxing and keeping calm, actually all of them make you reflect on self-defense. They mostly focus on meditation, spiritual cleansing and body toning,” she suggested. “They teach you to remain calm and practice meditation, but if you think that something soother will help, I’ll research it for you,” she added and then looked at the potato covered Harry and sighed.  
That perked the weary man up; anything to help control the beast was welcome. “If you can find one I can afford then yes I would like to try.”  
“I’ll pay,” James said and then held his hand to stop the protest. “Call it a birthday or Christmas present, or whatever will ease your conscience.”  
“Fine,” Remus said, knowing it would be futile to protest.  
“Great, I’ll go with Sirius and learn how to kill with my pinky and Remus will go to help with his furry little problem,” James said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them, then turned back to the meal. “This is lovely, Lily.”  
“Thank you, James.”  
And talks turned to nonessential things while dinner was consumed. The only person missing from this happy scene was Hydrus and Lily hoped that whatever was making Remus so crabby would pass. She wanted the man who used to be another Lily’s son here.


	5. Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Winter_Weasley, alix33 and darrelldeam for looking this over. All mistakes are my own. 
> 
> I want you to remember that all entertainment in Hydrus’s and the Marauders’ houses will be futuristic for 1981.

Hydrus came earlier the next day, this time he had eaten at home. Tippy had made some awesome Scotch eggs. He knocked and waited until James opened the door.

“Hydrus,” was the cheery greeting, “Come in.” He was still wearing his sleeping pants and a white T-shirt.

“James, it’s good to see you,” the immortal said, slapping the man on the back.

“And you,” James replied, returning the good natured slap and leading the older man to the living room. “You know, you are basically part of the family, you don’t have to knock on the door,” he added.

“Give me a little more time to get comfortable enough for that,” Hydrus said, not quite to where he could just walk into the house.

“Alright, but the offer is open,” the still sleepy man said and then watched his wife and son play on the floor.

Lily, who was also dressed in warm nightwear, was tending Harry, who was trying to walk. She glanced up and smiled then turned back to her infant son.

Harry was standing by the sofa, holding it with his little hands and looking at the coffee table like he was determined to get there on his own. He reached over with his tiny arms and took two steps and fell on his bum.

Lily clapped and picked up her little man and gave him a big hug. “Oh, what a big boy you are,” she cooed and gave him a raspberry on the tummy, making him giggle. She then put him down by the sofa and the whole scene repeated itself, with the men watching, proud smiles on their faces.

Soon enough Harry grew tired of the game and said, “‘all” crawling to his playpen.

Lily laughed and put him inside. He squealed and got his color ball and the adults settled into their seats.

“Lily, I wanted to apologize for raising my voice yesterday. I know how Remus reacts and I shouldn’t have let it get to me,” Hydrus said, looking at the redhead. “I was just caught completely off guard about the Headmaster thinking I’m Dark.” And that thought still bugged him.

“No, it really wasn’t your fault,” Lily waved it away. “Remus was out of line. He should have never insinuated that you’re a Dark Wizard, no matter what Albus thinks. Not after everything you’ve done for us.” She was still plenty miffed at the werewolf.

“Well, it’s the vow…” the immortal started, only to be stopped by James.

“We, Sirius and I, took the same vow and you don’t see us arguing with you,” James said thoughtfully.

“The mind is a tricky thing. You guys are so thankful for me saving you that it will take a lot to make you turn on me. Remus, on the other hand, has morals that haven’t been placated. While he is thankful that you are alive, he’s fighting his own nature of non-violence to make sense of what’s happening around him,” Hydrus tried once more to explain the werewolf’s actions, not wanting there to be discord between friends. 

“Still, he should keep his opinions to himself,” Lily huffed, not one bit mollified.

“I’ll try and do the same. So, tell me, James, how do you like Mortal Kombat?” the time traveler asked as he noted the game on the telly.

“Wicked,” James answered with a gleam in his eyes. “Lily says she’s going to find a school that teaches that stuff. Is it true there are people who can kill with a pinky?”

“Well, maybe not with a pinky, but, yes, they can take you down in a second. I took some classes in my last timeline and I have to tell you that it helps with relaxation like nothing else,” Hydrus answered, thinking it would do the Marauders good to learn these arts. He chastised himself for never thinking about it when he was raising Harry. But then again, there wasn’t the tension then that there was now, well, not after the first week and some therapy. Maybe it would calm Remus down.

“So what did you do yesterday?” Lily asked the older man, hoping he didn’t spend all day moping over the argument.

“Plausible deniability,” was the succinct answer as Hydrus grabbed a controller and started a new game.

“Right,” Lily said with a nod. “I’m going to London to find those schools. You guys don’t get too caught up in your game. Pay attention to Harry.” And with that she went to get dressed.

The other two men showed up and once more apologies were given and waved away. The men settled in for a day of gaming and reading, while, of course, tending to Harry.

Lily went to London and found the schools she was looking for and made appointments for the men in her life, except Hydrus. She went back to the cottage and told the men their class time and gave them the brochures that explained what they’d be learning and showed how to dress.

**Hphphp**

This set the pace for the next week, Hydrus would come to the house, the men would play games or read, Lily would try and get Harry to walk or do research. And every afternoon the immortal would leave, train and try to capture Death Eaters. He made sure to brew the cure and handed it to Remus to give to the Order, trying to placate the other man into thinking he wasn’t a Dark Wizard.

After a week of this, classes started for the Marauders and Hydrus had to fight harder to set his traps. It seemed they finally caught on and were sending werewolves, who could sniff him out, making the time traveler resort to violence with silver bullets and martial arts, but not mortally wound. He got Greyback, with a hole in the head; there was no way he was letting that animal live. He never told the others what he was doing. Soon enough the Death Eaters stopped appearing and the Dork Lord went into hiding. Now he was going to have to figure out where they were.

A few more arguments were had, but nothing too serious. Sirius heard from his grandfather and had a meeting with him next week. Another Order meeting was scheduled the following day. Marius called and talked to Hydrus, he was willing to hear him out and set up an appointment.

The next week was going to be busy.

**Hphphp**

It was Monday afternoon and Sirius had had the meeting with his grandfather that morning. Everyone was waiting at the Potter house to see what the results were.

Hydrus and James were playing Halo: Reach. Remus was still researching time travel and Lily was tending to Harry. All in all it was a nice happy family scene. Then Sirius walked through the door, with sagging shoulders and a disgruntled look on his face. He went to the only empty chair and flopped down and ran a hand down his weary face.

“What happened?” James asked, putting down the controller and looking at his downtrodden friend.

“Well, it started out okay,” Sirius sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. “We were just talking and having tea, but then I said something, I don’t remember what but it must have pissed the old man off, because it turned into a massive fight. Grandfather may be old, but he is still a powerful wizard. We argued with each other for a good hour. He kept going on and on about family. I tried to tell him that I’d do everything I could to get the family back together, but there was no way I was going to make up with my mother. It went from bad to worse, before it got better,” the younger Black said, still moping in his chair.

“So, he didn’t make you the Head?” Hydrus asked, a bit despondent. They really needed that to get the last two horcruxes.

“Oh well, yes, but no. I have to pass some tests first,” Sirius said, again running his hand down his face. “Like you told me, he wants the family Grey and it’s up to me to change the minds of the aunts, uncles and cousins, _before_ I can take over the headship. That’s going to take some doing, since they are all old and set in their ways or Death Eaters. Or like Andromeda and booted out of the family.” His shoulders slumped with the heaviness of such a task.

“Hmmm,” the immortal said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. “Well you don’t have to worry about the Death Eaters and there is Nymphadora, who is a Metamorphmagus. You can use that to change your Uncle Cygnus’ point of view, since he thinks only pure-bloods have that talent. That is what changed his mind last time. Then it might snowball from there.”

Remus got that look in his eyes about the Death Eaters not being a problem, but he withheld his opinion.

“Yeah, that might work,” the younger Black said thoughtfully. “Hey, do you mind if I set up the orphanage?” he asked with a hopeful glint in his eyes. “I’ll get my Aunt Callidora to help and we’ll make sure it’s arranged just the way you had it last time. I’ll even do my best to hire the same people and elves.” He bounced in his chair at his brilliance.

“I have no issue with that, I’ll even help fund it,” Hydrus said with a smile. Barkley’s had been a great stepping stone for change in the attitude against squibs and he would be ecstatic to see it up and running again.

“Great,” Sirius said, clapping his hands and thinking of everything the time traveller told him about how his alternate-self had brought the Black family up from Dark to Grey. “I think I’m going to need to look at some of your memories.”

“You can do that, get with me tomorrow at my place and we’ll go over them,” the older man said.

“One of the reasons it didn’t go as planned today was because I got too cocky and all but demanded the headship,” the younger Black confessed as he hung his head in shame. It had been up to him to get those soul anchors and he let his pride get in the way.

“It’s okay, Sirius,” Lily said, reaching over and patting his hands. “Not everything can go smoothly, the timeline has changed too much.”

“Yeah, but, still, I should’ve known better than to mouth off to Grandfather,” Padfoot sighed.

“Okay, enough depressing shite, let’s blow up some bad guys,” James said, only to be hit on the head by Lily.

“Watch your mouth,” she snapped and hit him again. “I swear if Harry picks up your cussing, you’ll be sleeping on the couch for a month.”

“Ow, fine, I’ll try and stop,” James said, warding off the blows she was raining on his head.

“She’s right,” Hydrus chuckled as he looked at Harry, who was still playing with his ball, “it’s about this time Harry started echoing those around him. He has quite a vocabulary for someone his age.” He sent a proud smile to his younger self when he heard the word, ‘ed’.

James just huffed and picked up the controller, determined to beat the older man. So they went back to what they had been doing, Sirius joining the gamers and the afternoon passed peacefully, though every now and then, Padfoot would get a faraway look in his eyes like he was planning something. Late afternoon came and the Marauders went to their classes and Hydrus pulled out a DVD player and some movies.

“Sorry I didn’t give you these last week, I was too busy thinking about how the Marauders would enjoy the games. Anyway, I have every kind of movie; kiddie, girlie, action, history and so on. So you should be entertained for a while,” he explained as he set up a rack stand and started adding DVD disks.

“Do you have Breakfast at Tiffany’s?” the redhead asked eagerly. It was her favorite movie growing up. There was something about Audrey Hepburn that just made her coo.

“Why, yes, yes I do,” he smirked and pulled said movie out.

“You are the best time traveler ever,” Lily said and gave him a big hug and kiss on the cheek. She was now more determined than ever to find her immortal not-son a girlfriend that wouldn’t die on him. She had already written to the Flamels and was waiting for an answer. It had been a tricky letter to write, since she couldn’t tell what she wanted upfront. She finally settled on the fact that she knew an immortal that was seeking companionship and could they help. She only hoped her owl got through, they were a very reclusive couple.

“Here, let me show you how this works,” Hydrus said, kneeling down and demonstrating the buttons. “Remember this is futuristic, so if anyone asks, you tell them it’s a prototype that isn’t on the market yet. I’ve got a smaller telly and DVD player I can set up in your room,” he added with a smirk.

“Speaking of which, and I know I said it could wait, but what are you going to do about your inventions?” Lily said with excitement in her voice. She had so many ideas and she wanted to run them by him.

“I have a few thoughts, but you look like you’re about to burst, so tell me what you’re thinking,” Hydrus said with an easygoing smile. She was a very smart witch after all.

“Well, I was thinking about your suggestion of opening a mall. We can buy out the stores in Diagon Alley with the promise of shop space for the owners. We’ll get a solicitor to write up a contract,” she waved that part off as easy. “Then knock them down and build a mall or we can build it somewhere else. Then, maybe, we can get Mrs. Lovegood and Mr. Weasley to open their own stores. This way they can both make money out of their tinkering,” she said, all but bouncing in her chair. 

“That’s not a bad idea. I’ll get with Mr. Jasper soon and see what he thinks. I’m not sure if Pandora or Arthur have anything sellable, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask. I was thinking of starting a company called Black Entertainment and getting the movie industry started soon,” he added to her plans. They talked a bit more about it while Breakfast at Tiffany’s was playing in the background.

Harry was playing with one of his new toys. It was a stuffed bunny that would tell you the body part you were squeezing, so if he grabbed the leg the toy would giggle and say ‘leg’. Right now, he was chewing on the ear and the bunny was snickering and saying ‘ear’ every five seconds. Lily kept glaring at the noisy toy and then would turn that glare to Hydrus, who would just shrug and smile.

The Marauders came home just in time for a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread. They were all worn out and grumbling about their aches. Well, not Remus, he was smiling indulgently at his friends. He knew their classes were much more strenuous than his.

Lily held no sympathy for them. “I told you, you’d be sore. Quit your bellyaching and go wash up for dinner.”

So they went and did as they were told and then went to the dining area and sat. Lily and Hydrus put the meal on the table and Hydrus looked at the younger men and smiled. “So how are you enjoying the classes?” he smirked as he cut up some meatballs for Harry.

“I have muscles aching in places I didn’t even know I had muscles,” Sirius whinged as he scooped up some noodles.

“I actually feel good. Tai chi is very relaxing, but I do have to admit that the stretching is new to me too,” Remus answered, reaching for the garlic bread.

“Buck up, guys, it gets worse before it gets better,” the immortal said with a big grin, causing the other men to groan.

“This dinner is lovely, Lily. Thank you for making it,” James said, taking another mouthful of meatballs.

“Hydrus made it, so thank him,” Lily responded, making her husband almost choke as he did a double-take to the older man.

“You made this?” Sirius asked wide-eyed as he too took another bite and then rolled his eyes in pleasure.

“I will have you know, I am a very good cook,” Hydrus sniffed and put his nose in the air, before breaking down and laughing. He never could pull off a Malfoy for long.

“Well yeah, but you’re a guy!” Padfoot protested.

“I’ve been cooking since I was six.”

“Oh, right, I forgot about that, sorry,” the dogman said sheepishly.

Hydrus waved it away and they returned to their meal. Sirius volunteered to clean the sauce covered toddler and put him to bed. Twenty minutes later a sopping wet man came down the stairs and gave everyone a look that said ‘don’t ask’.

Lily just laughed, waved her wand and dried him off. They all sat and watched a documentary on advanced warfare. The wizards were shocked at the damage non-magicals would soon be able to do, it was one thing to hear about and another to see it in action. This made James and Sirius more determined to get the Ministry up to date on muggles so those weapons were never turned against wizards. That and those cameras Hydrus warned them about.

The next day went much like the last until the night when there was the Order meeting.

“Do you want me to Floo Albus and ask if it is okay to bring you along, since he wants to meet you?” Sirius asked, turning to the older man. 

“No, not at this time,” Hydrus declined, bouncing a tired Harry on his hip. “I have to talk to Marius first and I’m not meeting him until the middle of the week.”

“What do you want me to tell him if he asks about you?” the younger Black inquired, tickling the toddler under the chin, making him giggle, then break out with a huge yawn.

Harry put his head on his uncle’s shoulder and closed his little eyes. 

“Well, you could tell the truth and say that I’m busy right now and will meet him sometime next week. Remus has the potion, so that should placate him for now.” Hydrus turned his attention to his younger self, using his other hand to try and pet down that perpetual messy hair.

“Right, that’ll do,” was the reply.

“Hydrus, can you add some wards around the Order Headquarters?” James asked, just now remembering.

“I’ll talk to Dumbledore when I meet him,” Hydrus said absentmindedly as hugged the almost asleep toddler to him.

“Right,” James said with a fond smile as he looked at the two, very happy that he was alive to see them together.

The Marauders got their stuff gathered and went to Headquarters. Much the same group of people was gathered around the table. Tea and chocolate biscuits were set out and everyone was chatting. The Headmaster was once again running late. When he did appear he went to the head of the table and called order.

“It appears that the vigilante, or group, has once again rendered a blow to the Death Eaters,” Albus said, when everyone settled down.

“What do you mean?” Moody asked, you could hear the pride in his voice that someone was doing something. “Do you mean there are less of You Know Who’s minions running about? Because, I’m thinking that that’s a good thing,” he said gruffly, looking at his cup like someone had poisoned it and drinking from his hip flask.

“Alas, that is exactly what I am saying, however, whether it is bodes well for us or not is still undetermined,” the Headmaster said, stroking his beard in heavy thought. The newspapers were riddled with reports of missing persons, and the Minister was on him to find the culprit.

“Has this person attacked an Order member?” James asked, hiding his knowing grin.

“No, no, he is sticking to only Voldemort’s Death Eaters,” Albus said, waving a wrinkled hand and ignoring the flinches. Though, he did wonder why the Marauders were glaring at him, well, James and Sirius.

“Do you know for a fact that this person, or people, is killing the Death Eaters?” Dedalus asked, leaning forward in his chair.

“I do not know for sure, however, how else could so many predominate people disappear if not by the hand of a murderer?” the Leader of the Light said sadly. Life was very precious to him, it always distressed him to hear of others cut down before they could repent. Though he was not afraid of death, he felt that everyone should be given a second chance to redeem themselves before going on the next great adventure.

“Albus, you can’t go around accusing people of murder when you don’t know the facts,” argued Frank, who had a niggling feeling that he knew who the person was.

“Very true, thank you, Frank, for reminding an old man to see the good in the unknown,” the Headmaster said, the twinkle coming back to his eyes. “Now, James, Frank, I must once again implore you to get your Secret Keepers to impart to us where your residences are,” he softly ordered, turning his almost demanding eyes to James.

“My reasons are the same, Professor, I will keep my secret to my friends only,” the messy-haired man huffed. He looked around the table at the other members; some waved it away, while others protested that the Headmaster was within his rights to know. Albus got order again and turned his questioning gaze to Frank.

“I, too, will not be telling,” Frank said, folding his arms over his chest.

“How will we know if you are in good health if we do not know where your abode is?” the Headmaster tried to reason. “There could be an attack and we, the Order, would not be able to render assistance.” This reasoning made many of the Order nod in agreement.

“As long as my Keeper doesn’t tell, there will be no attacks,” James maintained, which caused his supporters to agree. “I, for one, trust this person with my life and the lives of my family.”

“Will you not at least tell us who he or she is?” He had a feeling that he knew, it wasn’t hard to puzzle out.

“No,” was the succinct answer.

“Frank?”

“It’s for their protection that I can’t tell you, Albus,” the sandy-haired man answered, not even glancing at James.

“Very well, I see you will not be persuaded,” Albus sighed and regarded them with his grandfatherly disappointed look. “Sirius, have you asked your cousin to meet with me? I would very much like to hear his side of the attack that was perpetrated on the Longbottoms. I was very disheartened to hear there were casualties.” It was this attack that made him question the morals of the unknown cousin and what he had done to get the Potters to trust him so.

“He’s a bit busy right now and said that he would be happy to meet with you sometime next week,” Sirius said, not looking in the old man’s eyes.

“Speaking of Sirius’ cousin, I have those potions for the Order,” Remus stated, hoping the topic would change.

“I suppose that will have to do. Thank you, Remus, Sirius. Now, do any of you still have someone to tail?” He looked at the Order members as they all shook their heads.

“No,” Marlene said, “They have all seemed to have disappeared. But you knew that, it was the first thing you said.” She was confused at the question.

“I only know of most, I was hoping there were still some of them lurking about. Alas, that does not seem to be the case. It does make me wonder what this vigilante is up too,” Albus said, once more stroking his beard.

“Is there anything else we, as the Order, can be doing? I have to tell ya, it doesn’t sit right with me that we are doing nothing to stop the attacks,” Fabian said forcefully. He was a man of action and this spying on Death Eaters wasn’t cutting it and now that they had all disappeared, he felt useless. This was not what he signed up for.

“We don’t know when those attacks are going to happen,” argued Dorcas, always a staunch supporter of Dumbledore.

“We have to do something, people are dying,” Gideon said, much like his twin. They had had a close call less than a week ago, but since the minions they fought were not from the inner circle they got away, but not without doing some damage in return. Bugger Albus and his non-violent ways, if their lives were in jeopardy he was going to give as good as he got.

“Until we get a spy within the ranks of Voldemort’s troops, our hands are tied,” Albus said in placating voice.

“Why don’t you ask Snivellus?” Sirius said jokily, making James glare at him and Remus raise an eyebrow. The rest of the Order gave him a questioning look; they didn’t know who this Snivellus was, well, most of them.

“Why do you say that, Sirius? Do you think he will do such a thing?” the Headmaster perked up, his eyes going full force.

“Don’t know, but I have a feeling that he isn’t happy being a Death Muncher,” Padfoot shrugged, sending an apologetic look to Prongs.

“Do you, by any chance, know where young Severus lives?” that trice-damned twinkle still shining in his eyes at the thought of recruiting a spy.

“Nope.”

“I will have to find him myself,” Albus said with a small grin that was mostly hidden by his beard. To have a spy in the ranks would be a big bonus to the Order. He knew that Severus was an unhappy and bitter young man. It would be easy to convince him to join them.

“That’s if you can offer him something the Dork Lord can’t,” scoffed James, remembering full well the greasy git turning down Lily.

Many at the table chuckled and snorted at the new moniker. Albus’s grin got wider and he said, “As amusing as that title is I must insist you call him Voldemort.”

“I will not!” James shouted. He slammed his fist on the table making the cups and saucers rattle. “I don’t know why you insist on trying to get us killed.” Many of the Order started shouting in defense of the Headmaster. Albus got them to calm down and James continued, “You know just as well as we do that there is a taboo on that name. If I call him anything it will be Tom.”

“How do you know that name?” the Headmaster asked as his face went stony and the rest of the members went silent. It was very rare that their leader got that look and it never boded well.

“A little research will go a long way. One only has to look at who disappeared a while back and then put the pieces together,” James lied straight-faced.

“Be that as it may, that is information that I would rather not be known,” Dumbledore stated in a commanding voice, reminding everyone just how powerful he was by the aura he was letting off. If people knew that Tom was Voldemort, then they would know that he knew the man and it would come back and bite him. No, it was better that that information was kept a secret.

“I don’t understand what it would possibly hurt for people to know that his true name is Tom Riddle,” James said with a tilt of his head, completely confused at that… request.

“There are things you do not understand that should be left in the dark for the time being,” Albus said, making the rest of the Order start arguing with him and amongst themselves. The meeting fell apart from there and soon enough everyone was told to go home until cooler heads prevailed.

The Marauders left grumbling to each other, well, James and Sirius were, Remus kept quiet. They made to the end of the wards and Apparated to the Potter home. James threw himself on the sofa and put an arm around Lily. “There are times I want to strangle that old man with his beard,” he complained.

“What happened?” Lily asked, snuggling into her angry husband.

“He got upset that I knew the Dork Lord’s real name. I have no idea why he wants to keep that a secret, he was as vague as always. Sirius, why did you have to bring up Snivellus?” he asked as he turned his ire to his friend.

“Hey, don’t get mad at me, I was only joking,” Padfoot defended himself as he held up his hands in protest. “How was I supposed to know he’d take me serious? He never has before.”

“Sorry, sorry, I’m just worried that Snape will tell him about Lily’s visit. She did offer to remove the Mark, remember? If Albus finds out about that, he’s going to want to know how and try to offer the Death Eaters a way out. Many will take it just so they won’t be prosecuted for their crimes. And since that crystal is in parseltongue he might jump to conclusions,” James explained, hugging his wife tight, thinking that this was information that never needed to see the light of day.

“Shite.”

“I still do not understand what you two have against the Headmaster,” Remus said softly, from his chair.

“You heard what he said about the supposed vigilante. If he thinks someone taking out Death Eaters is Dark then what do you think he’ll think about someone who is a parselmouth?” James argued. He was getting more and more concerned about Albus’ state of mind. The things Hydrus had told them were starting to make more sense.

The immortal said the Headmaster was a good man, but his judgement was off. The old man was more worried about keeping his secrets than the lives of people around him, unless they needed to be reformed. James just hoped this war was over soon, because Dumbledore would be a great help in the political arena—maybe. Still, it wouldn’t do to make the powerful man an enemy.

“He can be reasoned with. The Headmaster just sees the good in everyone,” the werewolf said, once more taking up the old man’s defense. 

“I know, but I’m going to worry about it until it comes to pass,” the messy-haired man said, looking fondly at his beloved.

Remus, seeing the look, sighed and nodded. James had every right to fret about his family. The two dogmen decided they had had a long enough day and went home.

“Hydrus said it was the vow,” Lily said, patting her husband on the chest. “I think you shouldn’t be so hard on Remus.”

“I know,” James said, kissing the top of her head. “Sometimes his devil’s advocate attitude is grating. We do have a right to our own opinion, but so does he, I guess. I just never thought we’d disagree so much.” While Remus had always been the passive one, this loyalty to Dumbledore was irritating.

“Give him a break and agree that there are things you can’t talk to each other about for the time being. When this war is over and the Order disbands everything will revert to normal,” the redhead suggested. “I don’t want to see you lose anyone over such petty arguments. We’ve already lost one friend, let’s try to keep the few we have,” she said in a sad voice.

“I’ll try,” he said and then got a wicked glint in his eyes, “Let’s do something to keep our mind off everyone and everything.” If it was up to him, they would never speak of Wormtail again.

“And just what are you suggesting, James Charles Potter?” she asked, folding her arms in mock sternness.

“Well, we could put in a movie,” he said, tapping his chin. “Or we could play tag.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, seeing her trying to hide her smile. “Or we could go upstairs and sleep.” She smacked him on the chest. “Or we could read a book.”

“Why don’t we go upstairs and see who can stay awake the longest?” she suggested slyly. “Hydrus gave me some movies that should only be viewed in the bedroom.” She waggled her eyebrows at him.

“Lily, you little minx.”

She just laughed and ran up the stairs, James hot on her tail. It was the wee hours of the morning when they finally retired, but neither one was complaining.

**Hphphp**

Hydrus stayed home the next day and waited for Sirius to come and view the memories. He wasn’t under a Fidelius since he wasn’t hiding Harry, though his house was protected with some pretty nasty wards, which he tuned Padfoot into. He went about his normal routine and was eating a breakfast of blueberry crepes, when the wards alerted him that Sirius was there.

He got up and answered the door. “Hello, Sirius and welcome to my home.”

“This is a big house you’ve got for just one bloke,” Sirius said as he took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack.

“I like this house, it’s the same one I raised Harry in,” the time traveler stated. There were a lot of happy memories, as well as sad ones associated with this building.

“Right, is that breakfast I smell?” the younger Black asked, making his way to the kitchen, letting his nose lead him.

“Please, help yourself,” Hydrus chuckled and followed. They ate and talked of mundane things and then retired to the living room.

Hydrus pulled out a pensieve and added every memory of his interactions with the Black family. Sirius put his finger in the bowl and was sucked in. The immortal just read his book-reader while the man viewed them.

A few hours later Sirius came out and said, “Wow, we did make a lot of good changes.” He was impressed at what he saw. He was a lot more hopeful now that he could convert his family. It seemed all he had to do was give them something conniving to do and they would take up the banner.

“Yeah, I’m hoping to do much the same this time, but so many things are different,” Hydrus said thoughtfully.

The two men sat in silence for a minute, each going over what they could do to make that future a reality in this timeline. Then Sirius got a sheepish look and confessed, “We might have a small problem.” The older man cut him a glare and raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Well,” the younger started, “I might have brought up Snivellus’ name last night at the meeting. Now Dumbledore is going to try and find him and see if he will spy on Tom. James is worried that he’ll spill about Lily’s visit.”

Hydrus sighed and shook his head. “Shite.”

“Yeah, that’s what I said and James agrees,” Padfoot stated with a nod then got a remorseful look. “I was only joking, I swear. I didn’t think the old man would take me seriously.”

“It’s alright, we’ll figure it out.”

They talked a little while more and then Sirius left.

Hydrus thought about what to do with Snape. He came to a conclusion. Gathering up his things he went to Spinner’s End and used his blast gun to destroy the wards, not caring that Snape would know he was there. When Severus came out the door, Hydrus stunned him and turned him into a rock. He wasn’t going to try and talk sense into the man.

He went home and put the rock on a chair and reverted him. He made sure Snape was still out cold then removed the Dark Mark and put one of the watches on him, adding a charm to make it so Snape could not remove it. He sat and watched the Potions Master change into the lighter-haired version of himself and then turned him back into a rock and put him in his pocketspace. When the war was over he’d drop the vile man into another country, change his memories and walk away, but there was no way he was going to let Dumbledore install the now ex-Death Eater in Hogwarts.

He spent the rest of the day researching and meditating on what to do next. Voldemort knew he was around and a threat. He had to wonder if the… man would seek him out now and leave the children of the prophecy alone.

**Hphphp**

The next morning, James and Lily were sitting on the sofa, trying to get Harry to watch the colorful educational cartoon film. He was more interested in the stuffed bunny.

“I’m going to kill Hydrus for giving him that toy. I like the color ball, it doesn’t giggle, but this thing is annoying,” James said exasperated, glaring at the tittering bunny.

“One of the benefits of being an uncle, give the child something loud and watch the parents get annoyed,” Lily said with a smile, patting her husband on the arm. Hydrus warned them about telling Harry that he was him, making sure they always referred to the immortal as Uncle.

“It’s still not right,” huffed James as he fought the need to hex the stuffed animal into smithereens. Harry loved the damn thing.

There was a knock on the door and James got up to let Hydrus in. He glared at the older man and said, “I’m going to kill you, just thought you’d like to know.”

The immortal got a confused look until he heard the sniggering and the word ‘foot’. He then smirked at his father and shrugged. “It’s educational,” was all he said as he went into the living room and picked up Harry.

James just plopped onto the sofa and pouted, watching the cartoon with mild interest.

Hydrus took his chair and smiled at the adults, Harry on his lap, who was still chewing on the foot of the bunny. The time traveler took out his wand and said, “Lower volume.” He tapped the animal and the giggling turned into a whisper, making Harry look at his bunny and start shaking it.

“I really hate you,” James spat.

“What? I did what you wanted and stopped the noise,” was the innocent answer.

“That damn thing woke me up every time Harry rolled over in his sleep and if I tried to take it out of the cot, he’d start crying,” the messy-haired man complained.

Hydrus just chuckled at the miffed man. “I can’t stay long, but I wanted to tell you that Snape has been taken care of. Before you ask, no he’s not dead, but I’m not telling you any more than that.” He held up his hands to ward off questions.

James sighed in relief, while Lily looked worried.

“Anyway, I have to go and meet someone,” the older man said as he got off his chair and handed Harry to Lily. “I’ll be back after the meeting and let you know how it went.” He gave Lily a hug and looked at her as if to say ‘don’t worry about him’, he shook James’s hand and kissed Harry’s forehead and left.

“Lily, stop worrying. Hydrus said he’s not dead,” her husband offered as he sidled up to her and put an arm around her shoulders.

Lily, still holding a wiggly Harry, leaned into him and sighed. “You’re right, I should trust him.” And she really did, with her family and friends, but he was a bit of a loose cannon when it came to Death Eaters.

“It’ll be alright. What do you say to you try and beat me at Mortal Kombat? Then we’ll have a lovely picnic in the back garden. It’ll be too cold soon so we might as well enjoy one of the last sunny days of the season,” He said, giving her a warm smile.

“James,” she reprimanded, smacking his chest, “you know I don’t like those games, but the rest sounds divine.”

He just chuckled and lifted Harry and the three Potters spent the day as family.

**Hphphp**

Meanwhile, Hydrus met Marius in the same park as the last time. He spotted the man and went up to him. “Marius? Hello, I’m Hydrus Black,” he introduced himself with a friendly smile as he held out his hand.

Marius cautiously took the hand and gave it a manly shake then nodded his head, “Thank you for not wearing robes,” causing Hydrus to chuckle and then sobered when Marius glared at him.

“Not a problem,” the immortal said with a casual shrug of his shoulder. “I don’t like them anyway. I was raised by non-magicals. Let’s walk,” he suggested, waving his hand down the path.

“Tell me who you are and why you’re claiming that Patrick is your father,” the other man demanded as they started down the path. He put his gloved hands in the pocket of his coat, silently cursing the wizard for wanting to meet in such a cold environment.

So Hydrus told him his story, well, most of it. He let him know that he was a time traveler, about the blood adoption and the need to use the Black name. He explained that Marius could help him a lot in getting what he needed for his cover story. He told him that he had taken care of most of the bad elements of the Black family and that they’d never bother anyone again. He then told of Sirius’ mission to reform the family and open an orphanage for squib children. They talked for about an hour and then settled on a bench while Marius took in the information.

“So that bitch Bellatrix is gone?” Marius asked, rubbing his chin.

“Oh yeah, she was one of the first I got rid of when I came back,” Hydrus said with a malicious glint in his green eyes. “Do you want her? You can put her on display in your living room,” he asked as the idea suddenly came to him.

“What if she converts back? I’m a squib and couldn’t hold up against that sadistic witch,” the other man said, doubt about the man’s sanity floated across his mind.

“Do you know how to use a gun? Because wizards don’t have a shield for that. Besides, once I transfigure something, or in this case someone, it stays that way,” he waved it off negligently.

“Just like a fucking wizard, always so goddamn sure of themselves,” Marius spat with a look of distaste.

“No, that’s not really how I meant it, sorry to give you that impression. What I meant was that I have a special wand that, if it does the transfiguring then they truly stay changed,” Hydrus said quickly, not wanting to get on the man’s bad side. “I could put it in an unbreakable glass case and if she does revert then she’ll die. Honestly, I’m just offering you the woman who most likely killed your family.” he said sincerely.

“Let me think about it. I might lose sleep if I had that woman in my house, rock or no. Now, back to your dilemma,” Marius said, returning to the original topic.

“Right, well I can make it worth your while, if that’s what you want. I know you are a good man, I remember all the help you gave me from before. But, I want to keep you out of others’ radars. So I can offer you wards for your home and business,” the immortal said, trying to placate the grumpy man.

“I know that this will be thumbing my nose at the Blacks and the wards would be most welcome, but I would want the full set; the kind that protects my house from anything and anyone. I also want that alarm system you yacked about. I’ll help with the orphanage, but that’s it. So once you set the wards, unless I call you, you stay the hell away from me,” the other man said in a threatening manner. He really didn’t like wizards.

“Not a problem,” Hydrus held up his hands. He would miss the cantankerous old man, but he knew it was how Marius was, even in the last timeline the man had little to do with them. If it hadn’t been for Harry, Marius would have had less time for the adult wizards. “If any wizard asks you just stick with the story that I came to you and you threw me out. We can even set the scene so if they read your mind, then just think only of that memory and that’s all they’ll see.”

“I know how to protect my mind from the likes of you,” Marius sneered. He had read every book on meditation and organizing one’s mind the minute he got old enough. He could fool someone long enough to get them away from him.

“Right, let’s get you sorted,” Hydrus said, getting up from the bench a bit disappointed that Marius wasn’t as forthcoming as he had been before. He was wondering how the old man could protect his mind when he never could keep wizards from Grace’s, but Marius didn’t look or act like he was willing to share.

So the two men did as they had discussed and then Hydrus went to the Potters. He didn’t knock this time, just went in and flopped into his chair. He told them what happened and said only Padfoot can contact him and only about getting squibs off the street. Maybe they’d try again later, when Marius had time to cool off.

The rest of the day was spent in family time until dinner, when Remus and Sirius came. They all ate a wonderful roast beef and potatoes and chatted about nonessential things. After washing Harry and putting him to bed, Hydrus excused himself and went home.

Now the only things he had to worry about were the horcruxes, Tom and Dumbledore. Well, at least until the war was over, then he’d have to worry about reshaping Britain’s Wizarding World or maybe he’d take a vacation. Who knew?


	6. Causing Discord

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Winter_Weasley, alix33 and darrelldeam for looking this over. All mistakes are my own.

The week went by and there were no occurrences by Voldemort or his minions. It seemed he was truly hiding after the Longbottom attack, which made Hydrus’ plans harder. The immortal had checked to see if he was hiding in the Riddle Manor, but it was empty. He had the thought that the… asshat was located in the residence of one of the Death Eaters so he called on all the victims that had died by his hand, set them on him and waited. They came back hours later and said they were unable to find their quarry. The Master of Death didn’t know that the Fidelius worked on spirits, so he sent them back to the Realm of the Dead and concentrated on his other plans.

Everyone was sitting at the Potter's house, doing what they always did, when Hydrus decided to remind Sirius of the prank. “Sirius,” he said, drawing the man’s attention from the telly, “let’s take a walk.” He jerked his head to the door.

“What? Why? It’s bloody cold out,” Sirius said loudly, earning a smack on the head from Lily.

“Language,” she stated, glancing at Harry, who was playing with that damn giggling bunny and not paying attention to the adults. She gave a sigh and glared at Sirius.

“Right, sorry,” the younger Black grumbled and then turned his head to the older man with a questioning eyebrow.

“Don’t you remember the great prank we want to pull?” was the vague answer.

Sirius rubbed his goatee and thought for a moment. “Oh, oh, yeah, _that_ prank.” He winked at James, who held up his hands in a way that said ‘leave me out of it’ as he cut a worrying gaze to his wife, who was giving him a ‘you’d better not’ look. Remus glanced up from his book-reader and shook his head to remind them he wasn’t going and then returned to his research.

“Yes, _that_ one. Let’s go for a walk,” Hydrus restated, getting up and gathering his coat. Sirius followed and the two started walking down the pavement in Godric’s Hollow. “So if you have time enough tonight, we can start relieving Death Eaters of their treasures. Like I said, most of it is still at Gringotts, but I know for a fact they have stashes.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked over the picturesque town.

It was a quaint town and Hydrus noted that there were Halloween decorations on many of the doors and in the gardens, reminding him that is was almost the time when he lost his parents, and glad the Potters were now alive, the two thoughts clashed, making the immortal shake his head to clear it.

“I’ll always have time for something like this,” Sirius answered with a bounce in his steps, bringing the older man’s attention back to the conversation. “Tell me what to do and I’ll be there.” He clapped his hands together and rubbed them excitedly. He was more than happy to get his hands on anything in those houses. He knew there were Black heirlooms in Bella’s house and he would do anything to get them back. If only so he could thumb his nose at his dear mother.

So the two Blacks walked in the late September air and made plans to gut the Lestrange Mansion, since they were nullified. It was getting dark and they returned to the Potters for dinner. Lily had made some pork chops and potatoes with a nice green salad.

“What are you two up to,” she asked, giving them the hairy eyeball.

“Plausible deniability,” Hydrus said, forking a pork chop and adding it to his plate.

“You know one day that answer isn’t going to cut it,” she warned, still giving them the _look_ while spooning some diced potatoes onto Harry’s high chair tray. The tot grabbed them up and squished them in his hands, giggling at the mess and then tried to put them in his mouth, causing them to smear across his face. His mum just looked at him and sighed, then returned to her own meal.

“I know and I promise once the war is over there will be fewer secrets, but there are just some things that I’ll be doing to end this conflict that you can’t know about.” He dished up some potatoes and took a bite, feeling a bit like a hypocrite. _I feel like Dumbledore,_ he thought. _Keeping things from the people I trust._

However, he knew that Albus kept important information that people _needed_ to know. What the Headmaster held back could get people killed, while he was trying to keep anyone from going to Azkaban. Still it wasn’t settling in his mind well and from the looks Remus was throwing him, he knew the werewolf felt the same.

“Fine, just don’t get killed,” she huffed and took a sip of her tea.

They talked of the men’s classes and other mundane things, then after cleaning Harry and putting him to bed, they retired to the living room and settled with a movie. When it got to be around ten, Hydrus and Sirius excused themselves and went to commit their… prank… crime— whatever.

They popped to the Lestrange Mansion, just outside the wards. There were no lights on in the large, five story house. It was dark and ominous, with the moon reflecting through the trees, casting shadows across the front of the dark brown house. The fullness of the moon reminded the immortal to brew up the better Wolfsbane potion for Remus and offer him his cellar.

Shaking his head from those thoughts, Hydrus pulled out his blast gun and demolished the wards. Still no lights came on so he figured the Dork Lord wasn’t in the residence. He handed Sirius an invisibility cloak and donned his, just in case. He pulled his holly wand and pointed it to their feet and added silencing charms.

“Why do we need these? There’s no one home,” Sirius asked, holding up the cloak.

“Tom isn’t stupid, if he felt the wards fall he isn’t going to do anything that will give him away. Just put it on and be quiet,” the invisible man whispered fiercely. Sometimes Padfoot was so kid-like it was grating.

“Right, I can do that,” the dogman said, hearing the tone. He put on the cloak and Hydrus grabbed his elbow so they wouldn’t run into one another.

The two men made their way to the front door and managed to unlock it. The inside of the house was surprisingly clean and decorative, the walls were white with silver trim and the pictures were clean and moving. You could hear them call out ‘Who’s there?’ making Hydrus thankful they put on the cloaks. The light fixtures were bright and shiny, like someone cleaned them regularly. The vases and busts were marble and gleamed in the light of the mostly full moon.

Well to Sirius it was shocking, but Hydrus had already done this in his last two timelines, so he knew how the place looked and where to go. They snuck quietly to the main living room on the ground floor and over to a blank wall. Hydrus threw some Peruvian Darkness Powder at the portraits, making them cry out. He then used his blast gun again and brought down the wards and the wall disappeared. Still nothing moved, so they figured no one was in residence and they removed the hoods of the cloaks and started emptying the space and were greatly stunned to find the Hufflepuff cup.

“I thought that was in her vault,” Sirius said, looking at the goblet that appeared so innocent, but he could feel the taint. As he observed the golden cup with badgers engraved on the main vessel, he was glad it didn’t have to be destroyed.

“She must have put it there after Tom fell, well, no, that’s not right, because I got her before that last time. Maybe her husband did it when she disappeared, I don’t know. Let’s not look a gifted horse in the mouth. Now you don’t have to deal with the goblins.” Hydrus took the cup and threw it in his pocketspace with everything else they had gotten from the hidey-hole. “Just your mum,” he added with a smirk.

“Right, are you going to show us how you get rid of those things?” Sirius asked with a grimace at that reminder, still pulling out the bigger loot and handing it to Hydrus.

“If you want,” was the simple answer.

“What are you going to do with all this gold?” Sirius asked, waving to the huge pile of coins still in the space. “Hey that book is a family heirloom, mind not getting rid of it?” he asked when a diary was pulled from the vault.

“I have an account in Hellströms that’s set up for bribes and funding of things like the orphanage.” He waved the question away and started spelling the gold to fly into his space, while Sirius stood back and watched. “If you want I can split it with you, but isn’t it better to use their own gold against them? I’ll make sure to sort out your family things before I do anything else,” he offered, still guiding the coins to his space.

“Nay, you keep it, we’ll all use it. You still haven’t told us how to get one of those… pocketspaces,” the younger Black whinged.

“Oops, I kinda forgot. We’ll do it tomorrow, after I get rid of Tom’s soul piece,” the older Black promised. “I don’t remember there being this much gold before, they must have put it in Gringotts after I got Bella last time.”

They finished off that part of the house and made their way to Bellatrix’s bedroom, which like that of any pure-blood was separate from her husband’s. She had another stash here and they went through the same motions and found many dark items. Soon enough they had covered the entire house, including the hidden basement. They hit two more houses that night and after Sirius got the Black items, they both went home very tired.

The next day, when Harry was down for his nap, Hydrus said, “While Sirius and I were pulling our prank last night; we came across one of the horcruxes. If you want, I can show you how to get rid of the damn things.”

“I would be most interested in seeing that,” Remus said at the same time Lily said, “Oh, I want to see”, causing the other three men to chuckle.

“Right, so let’s go into the kitchen,” the immortal got up and led the way. He threw up a Muffliato, knowing there would be screaming, and pulled out a ceramic bowl, a dirty rag, the Hufflepuff cup and a bottle of acid. He held the rag over the cup and chanted, “ _Repel aliena anima_.” The soul piece floated to the rag and Hydrus dropped it in the bowl and poured the acid on it. The horcrux screamed as it died, making the Marauders and Lily cringe. “All done,” he said brightly, cleaning up the mess.

“That’s it?” Lily asked in amazement. “Just a simple spell in Latin and few drops of acid? That’s bloody amazing” her face was filled with awe and joy as she all but bounced in place at what else could be done to other Dark items.

“Language,” James said with a smirk.

She hit him on the chest and said, “Prat.”

“You’d be surprised how many Dark spells are easily gotten rid of. That crystal I have for the Dark Mark is a simple Finite in parseltongue,” the immortal said as dropped the charm.

“How did you discover all of this?” Remus asked in astonishment. He too was gobsmacked at the ease the Dark artifact was cleansed with. He had been expecting a great show of magic, possibly bordering Dark. Maybe his impressions of the time traveller were incorrect. He would have to rethink things.

“Believe it or not, I read it in a non-magical fantasy book,” Hydrus shrugged as he led them back to the living room and plopped into his chair. “I don’t remember which one, but I do remember it was about flying horses and heroes and it combined magical and non-magical living. I got a lot of my ideas from books like that. They’re on your book-readers.” He shrugged.

“Why did you read muggle books in the first place?” James asked as he cuddled next to his wife, who was still paying very close attention to the immortal time traveller.

“I was trying to find every theory on time travel there was and kinda got caught up in the stories,” Hydrus answered with a sheepish look.

“They are pretty inspiring,” Lily confirmed, remembering her readings from when she was a little girl. Many hours were spent in fantasy lands, fighting dragons, being rescued by a prince and being a queen of fairies. Petunia hated that she would get so caught up in her novels. That girl had no imagination.

“I might just have to read more of them for my research,” Remus said, having never thought of that.

Hydrus pulled out a Chocolate Frog Book and asked, “Speaking of books. Who wants to be the one to publish this one?” He held it up so they could all see it.

“What is it?” Sirius asked, grabbing said book up and reading the first page.

“It compiles all the Chocolate Frog Cards and gives a broader history on who the people were and which Hogwarts House they were in. Its sole purpose is to reform the thinking that only Slytherin produces evil or Dark Wizards,” Hydrus answered, looking at the Marauders and hoping they didn’t make a big deal of it. He knew Lily would be on his side.

“Why would you want to do that?” James asked. His face scrunched in distaste. “They’re Slytherins.”

“So was Merlin,” the immortal deadpanned.

“What?!” came the yell from two different Marauders.

“You didn’t know that?” Lily asked, looking at her husband. “I thought everyone knew that. It’s on his card.” She took the book and flipped through the pages, found Merlin’s and pointed it out. “What I never understood was how Merlin was in Hogwarts at all. I mean, Muggles have him dying 500 years before the founding.”

“We did a bit of research and found out that his birthdate was wrong in the stories, he was over 100 years old when he attended. A lot of the new students were adults, since the school was new and none of them had any experience. So the doors were open to everyone, of all ages,” Hydrus explained, then looked at the male Potter with a lifted eyebrow.

“Oh,” was Lily’s answer as she too turned to her husband.

James had just finished reading the entry. “They’re right, he was in Slytherin.” He looked to Sirius, who was still unconvinced, so James passed the book over to him. “And it does say he was an adult student.”

“That’s the type of attitude that this book was written to change” the time traveller explained, a bit disappointed in James, but knew Sirius would react that way. He shouldn’t be surprised, after all James had been a bully during his school years.

“So what needs to happen to get this book published? I think it is something I can do from behind the wards,” Lily said, looking to Hydrus.

“Do you have a solicitor?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Have them contact the Frog Company and start negotiations on using their cards. Make sure you bargain with them and get their permission first. Then tell them you want pay for all their research. Wait a week or two and just owl this book to a publisher and market it. If we do set up a mall, then there will be a tea/book shop to sell it in,” the time traveller explained, pulling another one from his space and handing it to her.

“What is a tea/book shope? I mean, I understand what it might be, but could you please explain it in greater detail,” Remus inquired, stealing the book from Sirius and ignoring his ‘Oi’.

“Well, it’s a place where you can rent book-readers by the hour, if we get Frostwell to invent them soon, or customers read the books they purchased, while taking tea. We had it set up so that they could read one book for ten minutes then they would have to put it in their basket or it would reshelf itself.” Hydrus pulled out another book and handed it to Sirius. He raised a questioning eyebrow to James and his dad just shook his head and shared with his wife.

“That is a marvelous idea.” Lily’s eyes lit up at the prospect. “If we can get the mall up, I want to operate that shop!” She wiggled in her chair at that idea.

“Of course you can,” Hydrus said with a fond look. “Remus, if you want we can set up a loan and you can own and operate a similar book shop in London,” he offered as he turned to the werewolf, who looked up from his reading. “It can have non-magical in the front and magical in the back.”

“Let me think about it,” Remus said as he looked up. He gave Hydrus a considering look and then went back to the Frog book.

Hydrus shrugged indifferently at the wary man and perked up when he heard Harry wake. He told Lily he’d fetch him and went up the stairs. He changed the nappy and took the tot downstairs and pulled out a new toy, earning a dark look from James, which was returned with a mischievous smile.

This toy was like a board with huge colorful numbers imprinted on it that lit up when touched with magic. So when you pushed a number it would light up and say said number.

“Harry,” Hydrus said, “Look.” He pushed the number one, it lit red and said ‘one’.

Harry squealed, clapped his hands and started pushing all the numbers at once, causing a lot of noise, making the parents glare at the older man. The child pushed the number three and it lit green and said ‘three’ and Harry chimed out ‘tree’ the toy then said, ‘correct’, causing Harry to clap and press all the numbers again.

“Want to tell me why all educational toys are so loud?” James gritted through his teeth.

“How else are they supposed to learn if there is no voice to tell them?” the oldest Black smirked while the youngest just laughed at the Potters’ plight. “Seriously, there’s a volume control.” He once again lowered the volume and the toy quieted down, making Harry frown and bang on it harder.

Sirius continued to laugh and no amount of glaring made him stop. It took five minutes for him to be reduced to chuckling and then he said, “Hydrus, you said you’d teach us that spell.” He waved his hand at Hydrus’ left shoulder.

“Right, who wants a pocketspace? Raise your hand,” he said with a knowing grin. Every adult hand shot into the air, then little Harry thinking it was a game, threw both his hands up and giggled. “Oh, no you don’t, Prongslet, you play with your toy, while I take care of the adults,” Hydrus said picking the toddler up and placing him and his new toy in the playpen.

Remus, James and Lily all wanted theirs over their right hand, while Sirius once again got his on his right hip. Lily cooed at all the mothering things could use this space for, while the men were thinking of things like playing pranks.

It was getting late and there would be an order meeting soon. Sirius once again asked if he should call Albus and this time Hydrus agreed. So the younger Black flooed the Headmaster and told him he was bringing his cousin to the meeting. When it was time, they gathered their coats and went to the Vances’. They were met at the door by Emmaline and she questioned as to who the new guy was.

“It’s okay, Emmaline, this is my cousin Hydrus. The Professor knows he’s going to be here,” Sirius said with his most innocent look.

“Fine, you’d better not be pulling a fast one or I’ll hex your bollocks off,” she warned as she led them to the dining room.

“Who the hell it this?” Moody demanded, pulling his wand to the newcomer.

“Whoa, Moody, he’s invited,” James said, standing in front of his son.

Hydrus had to hold back a chuckle as he put his hand on the younger man’s shoulder and moved him out of the way. “I am impressed, Mr. Moody, that was some quick drawing.” He put his hands up to show they were empty and left them in front of his body in a nonviolent gesture.

“I don’t give a ruddy damn if you’re impressed or not. Who the hell are you?” The wand never wavered.

“My name is Hydrus Black, I’m Sirius’s cousin. I was one of the men who fought the Dork Lord at the Longbottoms’,” the immortal said, his hands still in plain sight. He looked at the man he used to admire and was a bit shocked to see he had both eyes and less scars.

“You’d better be telling the truth, laddie, or I’ll make sure you never say anything again,” the soon-to-be retired Auror warned, sitting and putting his wand on the table in front of him, his hand never leaving it.

“Right, now that you all know who I am, do you want to introduce yourselves?” Hydrus inquired, looking around the room at familiar and unfamiliar faces.

“NO!” Moody shouted, when people opened their mouths, “Constant Vigilance! You have no idea who this man is, we only have their word.” He waved his free hand to the three known pranksters. “They’ve already shown they were in poor judgement, with Pettigrew. That and he hasn’t taken a vow yet. You will wait for the Headmaster,” he yelled, pounding his fist on the table. He glared at them as if inviting them to defy his words.

There were some protests and some nods in agreement. Hydrus just shrugged and sat between James and Sirius. “He’s right, sorry I asked,” he said with a casual lift of his shoulder as he put his hands on the table in clear view of the paranoid man.

It was at that time Dumbledore came into the room, noted the tension and looked around. He spotted Hydrus and his eyes lit up with inquiry. “Good evening, everyone, I see we have a guest this evening. Am I to assume this is Sirius’ older cousin? The resemblance to Sirius is uncanny,” he said as he took his usual seat.

“Albus, may I present my cousin from my father’s side, Hydrus Black,” Sirius said seriously.

“Good evening, Headmaster,” Hydrus said with a nod.

“Ah, it is a pleasure to meet you, my boy,” the old man said, noting the grimace at the words ‘my boy’. “I do want to thank you for the potions. They have been most helpful. Would you perhaps give the directions to my friend, Poppy? She is in charge of the healing for the Order as well as Hogwarts.”

“Sure, I have little problem with that,” Hydrus shrugged and pulled out the recipe, handed it to James, who passed it along. “Be warned it is patented so she can’t sell it.”

“Thank you, very much.” The old man said putting the parchment in his robe, “Now then, I would like for you to tell us what had occurred at young Frank’s house and why you felt the need to take two lives,” he said, stroking his beard, the twinkle in his eyes dimmed a bit.

“Well, I was visiting Sirius at the Potters and Lily got a strange feeling that we should get to the Longbottoms…” Hydrus said, reciting mostly the truth, leaving out his banter with Tom. “As for taking lives, I’ll tell you the same thing I told Remus, it was either take the lives of the Death Eaters or innocents would’ve died or been insane. I chose to protect the Longbottoms.” He finished with a shrug and grinned at Frank, who gave a heartfelt smile back.

“Alas, I feel you could have stunned them and left them to the Aurors,” the Headmaster said with a disappointed look.

“Alas, I feel we’re going to have to disagree on that,” the immortal jibed back with the same disappointed look, making the Order members look at each other in confusion.

“Do you not think that all life is precious?” was the rebuttal, the twinkle completely gone from those old eyes.

“I feel that those men and women made their choices to be evil,” came the stoic answer. “They only want to kill or thoroughly maim. Why should I not retaliate in kind?” Hydrus asked with a tilt of his head. “Is my life not precious?” he rebutted.

“Of course, my boy, however we should endeavor to never meet violence with violence,” Dumbledore said gently, but firmly.

“Then your look on the value of life is obscure,” Hydrus stated flatly.

Many at the table nodded and voiced their agreement, while many others disagreed and took up the Headmasters side. They all stopped with Dumbledore held up his hands.

“They can be reformed,” Albus said firmly.

“No, they can’t,” Hydrus returned in kind.

Everyone fell silent at that, not very many people so blatantly disagreed with their leader.

“Does that not make you a Dark Wizard?” the Headmaster asked, his magic starting to pour off him.

“I can take a vow to you and all that are here, that I am not nor will I ever be a Dark Wizard,” Hydrus said calmly, not a bit impressed with the magical flare.

“That would put my mind at ease,” the Leader of the Light said, relaxing his magic and stroking his beard again. He was looking at the young looking man with puzzled eyes. To be able to kill and not be Dark was not something he entertained often.

“Mr. Moody, I have to pull my wand,” Hydrus said, cutting a look the man whose wand was once again raised toward his head.

“You do anything suspicious and I’ll blast your head off.”

“Fair enough,” Hydrus said as he took his holly wand out of the wand holder that he had placed there just for the meeting. “I, Hydrus Williamsford Black, swear on my life and magic that I am not, nor will I ever be, a Dark Wizard and that I have never taken the life of an innocent, so I swear it, so mote it be,” he intoned, the blue light sealing the vow.

Everyone relaxed when he didn’t drop dead. Well, not Moody, but he did lower his wand.

“James, are you sure you can entrust this man with your secret?” the Headmaster asked, turning his eyes to the messy-haired man.

“Dammit, Dumbledore, why did you have to ask that? Now you’ve endangered his life,” James yelled, standing up and causing his chair to fall.

“I have told you, I trust everyone at this table completely,” the old man said calmly.

“Just like we trusted Peter,” James all but spat in his face as he leaned on the table.

“James, it’s okay,” Hydrus said, putting his hand on the man’s arm. Sirius righted the chair and the two Blacks guided the irked man to sit.

“No, it bloody well is _not_ okay. He had no right to spill my secrets while he keeps his own,” the male Potter gritted, still glaring at the leader.

“I am just as protected as you are,” Hydrus said calmly. He then turned to the Leader of the Light and said, “He does have a point. You had no right telling that. It was his secret to share or not. You took that from him with little thought to his feelings or wants. Is this how you run everything in your little group? Just doing what you will and damn the consequences.” He waved his hand to the others at the table.

“No, you both are correct, I should have pulled James to the side and asked in confidence,” Albus said with remorse in his eyes. “I am truly sorry, James, I did not mean to upset you. I only wanted to make sure that you trusted someone you know little about.” The twinkle did not come back to his eyes as he did his best to look remorseful.

“And, pray tell, how do you know how much or how little he knows about me?” the immortal inquired with the lifting of an eyebrow.

“I have never heard of you until a few weeks ago, therefore, James could have only known you for that amount of time,” the Headmaster said in a reasonable tone.

Hydrus chuckled and said, “Wow, you’re a bit full of yourself.” Making many start to shout in protest.

“And why do you say that, young man?” the Headmaster said steadfastly, looking over his half-moon spectacles, after gaining calm.

“Do you really think you know everyone that everyone at this table is associated with? I mean, they all have lives, met people and get to know them without having to tell you who those people are and what they talked about. Or do you really require that of this group? Because I have to tell you, that is not a way to gain trust,” the immortal lectured and looked around at all the sheepish faces at the table and came to the conclusion that they did tell the Headmaster everyone they met and what they talked about.

“It is imperative that I do know who is talking to whom so that things like young Peter do not happen,” Albus defended his actions.

“And yet it happened anyway,” Hydrus said and then waved it off. “Do you offer the same courtesy?”

“I am the leader of the Order of Phoenix, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and there are many people that I associate with that have nothing to do with this organization,” was the answer, still defensive.

“When do you have time to sleep?” Hydrus quipped back, dropping the argument for now. “I mean, you’re old and hold so many positions, really, when do you sleep?” he tilted his head in innocent confusion.

“Two of those positions take up very little of my time. I sleep quite well, thank you. You need not concern yourself with my affairs,” was the mild reprimand.

“Yet you feel you can concern yourself with everyone else’s. Look, I get you want to protect your Order, but they are allowed to have lives outside your radar. Field of influence,” he reiterated at the confused looks.

“I agree,” came the voices of James, Sirius, Frank, Gideon, Fabian and a grumbling Moody.

“I was going to ask if you wanted to join the Order, but, alas, I can now see that you would cause too much discord. So I will have to ask you leave this meeting,” Albus said, once again looking over his glasses and giving a disappointed look to the disagreeable young man.

“One thing before I go, I’d like to offer you the same wards that I put up on the Potters and the Longbottoms,” the time traveler said, not the least bit put out by the demand to leave.

“Are these wards harmful in anyway?”

“No, they will simply stun and bind anyone with ill intent,” Hydrus said.

“Very well,” the Headmaster conceded.

“I charge one hundred galleons,” the dark-haired man said.

“You would charge an organization with the sole purpose of taking out Voldemort,” Albus asked, shock showing on his aged face.

“Both the Potters and the Longbottoms had no problem with a man trying to make a living,” Hydrus lied, knowing that he hadn’t charged the Potters, but they were family, mostly.

Frank nodded in agreement. “They are well worth the money,” he said defensively. “You should pay the man. He does good work.”

“I will think upon it and let Sirius know when I have reached an answer. Now, I must insist that you take a vow to never reveal this place to anyone or submit to having the knowledge taken from your mind,” Albus said in a benevolent voice, as if it was no big thing to ask.

“No one gets near my mind, old man. I’ll take your vow and go.” So he recited a quick vow to never tell of where the Order met and took his leave.

“I’m not sure I like the way you treated my cousin, Albus,” Sirius said, cutting a glance to James, who was holding to his anger by a thread.

“He was disrespectful to the Headmaster,” Dorcas said, glaring at the younger Black.

“How? By asking questions and disagreeing with the answers. Are we all supposed to just nod our heads each time Albus says something?” Sirius bit back, banging his fist on the table.

“Now, now, let us not fight amongst ourselves. Of course you are allowed to inquire and disagree with me,” the Headmaster said, making calming motions with his hands.

“Yet, when one man does you accuse him of being a troublemaker and ask him to leave,” Gideon pointed out with a huff. He agreed with everything the other Black said.

“He was doing more than questioning me. He was showing disrespect to our organization as a whole. We do not need such doubts brought up if we are to fight together,” was the calm reply.

“Right,” the Prewett twin said, folding his arms across his chest, “and if we agree with what he said, are you going to kick us out as well?”

“You are a trusted member of this assemblage,” was the non-answer.

“Right,” was the disgruntled reply.

And the meeting once again turned to chaos, while the Headmaster sat back and contemplated on the events of the evening. He let the arguing go on for about ten minutes and then told everyone to go home.

**Hphphp**

Hydrus returned to the Potters and entered the home. He thumped down in his chair with a satisfied grin plastered on his face.

“What did you do?” Lily asked, knowing that grin anywhere. James and Sirius had it often enough.

“Well, I might have started people questioning the old man’s control,” he confessed and gave her the highlights of the meeting.

Lily giggled and then sobered. “You shouldn’t make an enemy of Albus. He’s a very influential man,” she chastised.

“Don’t worry, I think I got him thinking about some things, but he is old and set in his ways, so it will take more than one meeting to change that,” Hydrus said with a wave of his hand. “The guys should be back soon, so let’s pop some popcorn and put in an action flick.”

So they got up and did just that and they were ten minutes into the film when everyone came stomping into the house. James sat next to Lily, Remus next to them and Sirius took the other chair. None of the men looked happy.

“I’m not going to fight with you, Remus,” Hydrus said with resolve at the look on the man’s face. “I know you think I was out of line, but you keep your opinion to yourself and we’ll have a lovely evening watching people blow each other up.” He pointedly turned away from the werewolf.

“Right,” the resentful man said and sat back to mull over the meeting, not the least bit interested in the movie.

It took a while, but soon everyone relaxed and started talking about the characters on the screen. The evening was uneventful from there, until everyone who didn’t live there made their excuses and went home.

“So what happened? Hydrus was being vague,” Lily asked, snuggling into her husband, who tensed at the question.

“ _Albus_ ,” he spat, “made Hydrus take two different vows and then kicked him out of the meeting.” He was still very pissed at the treatment and accusations the Headmaster bestowed on his immortal son. “He made him prove he wasn’t a Dark Wizard and then made him swear he’d never tell where the Order met.”

“James,” she said tentatively, “those aren’t unreasonable vows. He is only trying to protect you guys.”

“Lily, how can you say that?” the shocked man asked, pulling away and facing her. “That’s our son.”

“Yet, Albus doesn’t know that,” she said calmly, putting her hand on his arm. “Besides, after the blood adoption he is more like a cousin, and I think, for Harry’s sake, we should think of him that way. I know Hydrus agrees,” she added, noting that the older man never called them Mum or Dad.

That made him pause. It was true Hydrus never replied to them in a familial sense, and the Headmaster had no idea who the time traveller was. His anger lessened, but he was still miffed. “He also told him that he was causing too much discord,” he paraphrased, trying to hold on to his anger.

“Which Hydrus told me was what he wanted to do,” came the gentle argument.

“Really? Well damn,” James huffed and rearranged them back into a cuddling position. They sat in silence while James considered what she said. If Hydrus’ whole point behind his being there was to make people question the Headmaster, who was he to get upset? “Let’s go to bed,” he finally said, getting up and taking her hand.

“Let’s,” she agreed with a saucy wink, making her husband chuckle and kiss her firmly. Then he ran up the stairs and they once again stayed up late.

**Hphphp**

Hydrus hit two more houses that night, leaving Sirius behind. Everything he stole he already had from his last timeline, so he would have to figure out what to do with them. He could either sell the Dark books and items in Knockturn Alley or simply destroy them. It was something he was going to have to think about. Maybe he’d talk to the gang as see what they thought.

He went home satisfied at the dissonance he started and fell into his bed with the mental reminder to brew Wolfsbane potion tomorrow.


	7. Vanquished

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to alix33 and darrelldeam for looking this over. All mistakes are my own.

The next morning Hydrus slept in. He felt he earned it after causing so much discontent yesterday. It was after ten when he got up, took a long shower, got dressed and had a simple breakfast of cheesy eggs and toast. Then he went to his lab to brew the better Wolfsbane potion.

This draught would not only let you keep your mind, but would also cause you to be sleepy, so you slumbered most of the night and weren’t as tired the next day. It also reduced the pain of the transformation by half. Hermione, in the second timeline, had developed it when she found out that Remus was a werewolf. She had questioned the poor man until he had actually hid from her. The results, however, were a marvel.

The time traveller hummed a merry tune and set about preparing the potion. He was hoping to make it a peace offering to the werewolf so maybe Remus would stop fighting him all the time. Another wonder about this concoction was that it was easier to make, so within an hour’s time he was done. He poured it into a vial and placed it in his pocketspace. After the lab was set straight and letting Tippy know he wouldn’t be home for dinner, he took his leave to the Potters. He went up the walkway, opened the door and entered. It had taken a few weeks, but he was now comfortable with just walking in.

Everyone was seated in the living room, with James and Remus on the sofa reading, Sirius on one of the chairs playing with his handheld game and Lily, with baby Harry, was on the floor playing with the number board. They all looked up when he entered, smiled, called good mornings and went back to what they were doing.

Hydrus stood for a minute taking in the comfy scene. _Family_ , he thought, for that is what they were, barring Remus, but he was a trusted friend. He broke out into a satisfied smile and made his way to his chair. “Remus,” he said, getting the man to look up from his book-reader, “I have a better Wolfsbane potion for you. It’s faster, less pain inducing and you will sleep.” He called the vial and handed it to the werewolf.

“How is it better and how much will it cost?” Remus asked, taking the vial and examining the green liquid within.

“Right now, it’s free of charge, we’ll call it a Christmas gift, but in the future when I’ve marketed it, it will cost around one Galleon and five Sickles,” the older Black said, waving away the protest. He knew how the werewolf felt about handouts so he wasn’t bothered. He then explained how the brew was improved and added, “I also wanted to invite you to use my cellar. The people who had the house before me were making a bomb shelter, so the walls and doors are reinforced. You used it well in the last timeline.”

“Not that I am not grateful, but I do not accept charity,” the werewolf said, trying to hand the bottle back.

“It’s not charity, think of it as you being the guinea pig for a new potion,” Hydrus said firmly, determined to get this stubborn man to trust him.

“A what?” was the confused response as the vial was set on the table.

“It’s someone who tests new things in case of side effects and such,” the time traveller explained. “Not that there are any,” he added quickly. “This potion has already been tested, but it’s new to this timeline and needs an endorsement. So you take the potion and say it’s better than the old one and then we use your word to market it to other werewolves. Most test subjects are paid, so your payment will be the use of a very strong cellar.” Not much of a payment, but he knew Remus won’t take money.

“Alright, Hydrus, I will take your potion and use your cellar, but I do not want any more of your charity,” Remus conceded reluctantly, it would be nice to sleep the night away, not to mention less pain. The addition of the cellar was a bonus, since his house wasn’t really stable enough to stop an enraged werewolf, which is why he lived in the woods. Still, there was a risk to anyone wandering said woods and that never sat well with him. That and he was still trying to trust this man, after last night’s meeting it was hard, but for his pack he would try.

“Everything I offer you from now on will have a price or like the book-readers, I’ll make sure everyone gets one. I honestly don’t mean anything I do as an insult. This potion, when it’s marketed, will help hundreds of werewolves,” Hydrus said, holding up his hands. “I did, however, mean it about setting up a loan and getting you settled into a business that would suit you.”

“I am still thinking about it,” the werewolf said, putting the potion in his pocketspace, where it wouldn’t be broken. The full moon was only a week away.

“Moony, how about if I give you that loan?” James asked, trying to understand why Remus was so, well, not hostile, but very standoffish with the time traveller. Hydrus said it was the vow, but he felt his mate was taking it to the extreme. Maybe if he nudged Remus in the right direction, it would stop. Until then, this was his friend and he wanted to make sure he succeeded in life, and if Hydrus was correct, Moony would settle down well with a book store.

“I would appreciate that, Prongs. Let me think on it. Right now, I only want to get through the full moon. If this potion does as Hydrus said, then I will be in a good mood the next day and better able to make a decision.” He gave his friend a bright smile and went back to his book-reader.

“Right,” Hydrus said, slightly miffed at the distrust and then shrugged it off. He would see how Remus acted once the Order was disbanded. If the werewolf was still wary then he’d have to put some distance between them, which kind of hurt. “I have some things I need to be rid of, but I want your opinions. I have acquired some Dark objects and books, and while it would be responsible of me to destroy them, I hate burning books. The ones on the laptop and the readers can be deleted, but still…” he trailed off, his point already made.

“You should abolish them as quickly as possible, it is the only correct thing to do,” was Remus’s immediate response. Though he too hated to burn books, he felt that they were too dangerous to keep around. Albus was one for ridding the world of Dark objects, that included books, and the werewolf felt the Headmaster had a point.

“I don’t know,” Sirius said, rubbing his goatee. “I’ve always felt that destroying knowledge, no matter what type, was wrong.” While he wasn’t a bookworm like Moony, he did value information. There was no way he was getting rid of his family books and he knew they were Dark. He had read those books as a child and he didn’t turn Dark by doing it. He didn’t agree with Albus.

“What if those books fall into the wrong hands? We would have another Dark Lord to fight,” was the rebuttal as the werewolf put his reader away and focused on the debate.

“I’m sorry, Sirius, but I agree with Remus. Dark books should be destroyed,” James added, looking to his wife.

“I agree with James, while I dislike book burning, Dark books only have two purposes and that is to kill or maim. Whether it is an enemy or oneself to gain power,” she said then went back to teaching Harry how to say his numbers.

“Well that’s three for two. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. I do want to warn you that you will never get rid of all Dark books, but if you don’t want them around here, then I concede your point,” Hydrus said, not the least bit put out, he was on the fence about the whole issue. “What are we doing today?” he asked, changing the subject and looking around the room.

“With Tom laying low and all the Death Eaters neutralized, I thought we could make a quick run to Diagon Alley,” Lily said, looking up from her game of which number. “I’m running low on a lot of things and we don’t have an elf to pop out and get them. Besides, if I stay in the house any longer I think I might just go a little barmy.”

“Barmier,” James muttered, earning a dark look from his wife. He held up his hands and gave a cocky smile.

“What happened to your elves?” the older Black asked, he had always been curious about that.

“Lily,” was James’s mulish answer.

“Well, I didn’t know they could be hired back on,” she defended herself, picking up Harry and moving to the sofa. “They all just left as soon as I freed them. I had no idea they’d take it so hard. I hope they found good families.” She got a remorseful look in her eyes. She had freed the three Potter elves when James’s parents died. She had been devastated when they all broke down crying and popped away. She and James had had their first major fight over that, now she realized just how wrong she had been.

Hydrus stayed well out of that fight, remembering all the time he and Hermione butted heads over Kreacher. “Well, seeing as to how there are so many of us, I don’t see a problem with going shopping,” he said, knowing how hard it was being cooped up all the time, leaving the elf debate for another time.

“Right, so let’s get ready,” Sirius said clapping his hands to his legs and getting up from his seat. He also wanted to roam the Alley.

So the little family prepared to visit the wizarding marketplace. Everyone bundled up and they all went to the Floo and then to The Leaky Cauldron. Making their way to the back alley, they opened the portal and the Potters took a deep breath of fresh air.

“It’s good to be out,” Lily said, balancing a wiggly Harry on her hip.

“It is,” agreed her husband.

The other three men gave them sympathetic looks and made sure they had their wands ready. They would let the Potters have their day in the sun, but they would not relax, there was a war going on.

The small group stuck together, until they got to Gringotts, where Hydrus stood outside pointedly not looking at the goblin guards, who were sneering at him. Oh, they already knew he didn’t bank with them and they were not happy about it.

They had already gotten in confrontations with his solicitor on two occasions, when they tried to get the law changed. They failed.

The old men of the Wizengamot would not be swayed. They were firm that wizards could do what they wished with their money. Crouch had been particularly vocal about it. 

The goblins had threatened a rebellion, but the government stated they would not offer their support should You-Know-Who attack the bank. So those greedy buggers backed down —for now.

Everyone went to their vaults, got some money and joined the time traveller. They all started down the alley to do their shopping.

“You know, now that you told me your story, I can see what you’re talking about. The goblins aren’t nice or trustworthy,” Lily said as they wandered further from the bank. “I used to feel pity for them, but now, I don’t know, I think they’re greedy beings. The fees they charge are astronomical and gold is worth much more in the non-magical world than they exchange it for. Are you sure there is no way to break the monopoly? Do you think they will treat with us again?”

“I actually have an idea, but I need to reread the treaty and talk it over with my solicitor. It was something that I thought of in my last timeline, but by the time I got all the information, well, let’s just say the goblins had a good grip on society,” Hydrus said, with a shrug. “Judging from the way things went the last timeline, no, I don’t think they’ll renegotiate.” He shook his head.

“They’re going to make it harder to build a mall,” she warned, bouncing a whinging Harry up and down. “They’ll never concede to rebuilding the bank.” She pulled a teething biscuit from her pocketspace, praising Hydrus silently for the wonder, and handed it to the tot. She garnered a startled look from the witch that passed her at that moment. It appeared as if Lily conjured the biscuit, so the witch was confused, since that wasn’t possible.

“I’ve been thinking about that too,” the older man said as he looked fondly at the now quiet child. “We don’t need the whole street. We only need to get a few of the shop owners to let us reform their shops. Then we build up instead of out. So we’ll only need to tear down a few of the buildings on one side of the street.” He waved to the end of the street, at some old buildings, most of which were empty and the rest were in sad shape. They were right across from Knockturn Alley, which was a ways from Gringotts and the entrance to Diagon Alley, and had little business. “The only problem with that is, if everyone relocates to the mall there will be tons of extra buildings in the Alley. I’m thinking of buying them and making them flats, so more people can live closer to the magical world.”

“That’s actually a good idea,” Lily said thoughtfully and fell quiet as she contemplated the idea. She looked over the why Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley were set up and came to the conclusion that the new idea was a much better one.

The group went through the brighter Alley as quickly as possible, getting food and potion ingredients as well as some games to play. Even though Hydrus told them he had better ones, sometimes a good ole game of Exploding Snaps was just the thing to reminisce their school days over. Staying up late, drinking some fire whiskey and just talking about the good ole days. Lily hated it when they did that, because they were very noisy, but with the Muffliato spell she was content to let them have their nights.

James made sure to stop at Brigg's Brooms to sneak a toy broom, while making it look like he was buying something for himself. Hydrus caught him, but just winked and diverted Lily’s attention to the children’s broom, telling her about the time they bought one for Harry. Sirius and Remus just chuckled quietly and did some browsing.

Just as they were about to make their way to the Leaky Cauldron to go home, people in black robes and white masks popped into the alley.

“Quick activate your portkeys!” Hydrus yelled, pulling out the Elder Wand and standing in front of Lily and Harry.

The family did, but wards were thrown up and the group couldn’t get away and there were always apparition wards in the Alley, you had to go to the correct area to apparate out or in. There were usually no wards on portkeys, so that Aurors could use them in case of trouble, not that it would be much help now.

The men knew it would take too much time to drop the ward and that it would leave innocents to the Death Eaters.

“Lily take this and hide,” Hydrus whispered, handing her an invisibility cloak.

Lily ducked into an alley with Harry and hid under the cloak that Hydrus gave at her. She tucked behind a trash bin and covered Harry’s ears. She didn’t want to throw up a silence charm in case she needed to run. Harry was squirming and crying and wanted to go home. He clung to his mum in fear as the tears streamed down his face. “Shhh, sweetie, it will be okay. Your Uncle Hydrus and Daddy will take care of the bad men. Shhh,” she tried to console the terrified boy.

Meanwhile James, Sirius, Remus and Hydrus started blasting the robed people before they even started raining curses on the shoppers.

Screams filled the air as the adults herded the children into the nearest shop. Other adults, like most people of this time, ran as well leaving the four men to fight the ten people that ported in.

The Death Eaters turned to the fighters and started casting some really nasty curses at them.

“Where the hell did they come from?” Hydrus yelled as he put up a shield against a yellow curse. “I thought I got all of the minions.” He retaliated with a bone crushing curse that missed. One of the Death Eaters sent off a Patronus charm, Hydrus watched it as it floated away. He didn’t even know Dark Wizards could do that spell, but then again Snape could. Remus and Sirius also fired off a Patronus each, to get help.

“Maybe Tom is recruiting overseas,” James suggested loudly, throwing a stunning curse at one robed man and hitting him. “Does it really matter?”

“Maim, if you can’t kill,” Hydrus said him, firing at his own Death Eater. “Watch, his mates will simply revive him and we’ll still have to fight the ones you down.” He fired a curse to turn one of the women into a button, it hit and all of the Death Eaters turned their attention to who they now believed was the greater threat. Sure enough they revived the one James had stunned.

Now that the attention was off the Marauders, which was just plain stupid of the Death Eaters, they started throwing prank jinxes, ones that would turn you into an animal or make your arm a tree limb. They were still not comfortable with killing, but they had no problem disabling. They were also throwing bone breaking curses, but the prank spells came easier to them.

When those spells hit, Hydrus took the advantage and turned the enemy into buttons or rocks. The powerful Elder Wand threw curse after curse at the enemy, thriving on the fight. The immortal was fighting for his life, sort of; these minions were playing for keeps. He didn’t want to die and be reborn in the Alley where there were just too many people watching. So he ducked, shielded and kept transfiguring them, making it look to the observers like they just disappeared. Hydrus quickly called all the transfigured people to him and spelled them into his pocketspace.

When Tom somehow ported in and joined the fight, there were only three minions left. “Kill the others. I will handle this one,” Voldemort ordered with a look of disgust at how poorly his Death Eaters had done so far. He really needed to get better minions. He would find the man, or woman, who took out his inner circle and that person, would pay dearly.

Hearing what Voldemort said, Hydrus prepared to face him. He switched out wands, knowing that the holly one could prevent his death.

“Who are you?” Voldemort asked, recognizing the man from the Longbottoms and throwing a body binding curse at him. He wanted this man alive, if only to torture him and find out who he was or make him change allegiance. From what he could tell this wizard was almost as powerful as he was, it would be better to have him at his side, than to have him as an enemy. However, if the man would not conform, then killing him would be no obstacle. “What did you do to my inner circle?” he added as an afterthought.

“It’s none of your business who I am, Tom,” Hydrus said, putting up a shield and then casting an Entrail Spilling curse at the Dork Lord. “What make you think I had anything to do with your minions?”

“The spells you are casting, make me believe you have everything to do with the disappearances of my Death Eaters and you will pay for that, however I can be lenient if you join me. I can give you power and riches you could never dream of,” he stated as he cast another binding curse. Then he got a confused look on his face. “You are not one of Dumbledore’s, yet you fight with them. Are you related to the Potters, by chance?” the Dark Lord asked, as he brought forth a stone to shield the curse and once again tried to immobilize the unknown man.

“You could never offer me anything that will make me turn to your side. Besides, do I look like a Potter?” was the casual comeback as Hydrus ducked the binding spell and cast a transfiguration at Tom. He really didn’t care if the Dork Lord figured out that he had captured the minions, however he didn’t want to have that talk in the middle of the Alley, so he dropped it.

“No, you look like a Black, which I must confess has me confused. I thought all but young Sirius and some of the elders had joined my cause,” Voldemort said as he batted away the spell and once more tried to bind the enemy. “Will you not follow family tradition and jo…” he was interrupted by a spell that cut his neck wide open, splitting it from ear to ear. He grabbed the wound, but he was losing too much blood too fast. All he made was a gurgling sound as he tried to scream.

Hydrus had cast a Confundus Charm that hit just after the curse that cut his neck. Tom started to sway and attempted to port out, but he couldn’t grasp his key. He fell face first onto the cobblestone street and didn’t move.

Hydrus watched in shock as the Dark Lord was downed and quickly bleeding out. He shook his head and bound the man so he couldn’t get away.

All fighting stopped. The Marauders and the two Death Eaters that were left looked on as the most feared Dark Lord bled to death in the middle of Diagon Alley.

Suddenly a female voice came from an alley, “That’s for targeting my son, you bastard.” Lily emerged, wand raised at the dying man. Her face was firm and there was fire in her green eyes. Harry was still in the depths of the alley, behind the trash bin, under the cloak with a silencing charm on him.

The immortal didn’t know if she was talking about him or his younger self. He looked at his younger self’s mum in surprise, then quickly got his act together and bound the rest of the Death Eaters. It was then that the Order and the Aurors showed up, running down the alley, wands raised and ready for a fight, which was over.

The people started coming out of the stores, clapping and cheering.

One of the Aurors came up to Lily and said, “I’m gonna need ter see yer wand.” Lily handed it over and it was checked for the last spells used. The last one cast was a simple cutting charm that all witches used to prepare dinner. He gave her wand back and said, “I need ter know what happened, Mrs. Potter.”

“I was in the alley, hiding with my baby, Harry, when one of _his_ curses came down. It almost hit my baby. I have no idea what the curse was, but I panicked. So I hid Harry, got up, snuck to entrance of the alley and cast the cutting spell. I was actually aiming for his shoulder, but he was moving. I didn’t mean to kill him, but he targeted my son,” Lily said firmly, just barely holding it together.

The Auror nodded as she answered and said, “That was very brave of ya, Mrs. Potter. You’ll need ter come in and give a report.” He patted her on the shoulder and then went back to his duty.

While she was being questioned, Hydrus went in the alley and searched for Harry. He spotted a little boot covered foot and went to pick up the silenced baby. He could see the tears running down the child’s face as he screamed silently for his mum. The immortal removed the spell, winced at that sudden wailing and tucked the cloak away. He carried Harry to the street and stood by Lily all the while making hushing noises. Harry was reduced to hiccups, making grabbing motions to his mum and clinging to Hydrus at the same time.

The Aurors were clearing the battlefield and questioning the Marauders, while the Order just stood guard, except Dumbledore who was questioning witnesses.

Suddenly there was a loud screech as a black wraith emerged from the dead body of Tom Riddle, causing the onlookers to once again take cover.

“I will be back. You will pay, mudblood,” it warned ominously and then it flew away amidst spell fire.

Cameras were going off and reporters were scribbling away. Hydrus recognized Xeno in the crowd.

“Well, damn,” the immortal said, watching the specter leave and going up and hugging Lily, who looked like she desperately needed one. “I’ll get the ghost to watch him, don’t worry he won’t come back without me knowing,” he whispered in her ear, trying to comfort her.

She nodded and returned the hug, and then took Harry from him and used the immortal as a shield from the crowd that started gathering. She suddenly wished it hadn’t been her spell that downed the Dork Lord. Now, she might never find peace.

Hydrus made some long motions with his holly wand and dropped the portkey wards, wondering how the Aurors and the Order got to the fight. He had a fleeting thought that Voldemort ported in through the wards, then figured that they were keyed to his magical signature.

Lily used her emergency key to port herself and Harry away, leaving the throng behind.

They quickly dispersed, babbling and gossiping all in good cheer.

“Hydrus, my boy, where did Lily leave to? I was hoping to have a word with her about what transpired today,” the Headmaster said as he came up to the younger Black.

“I reckon she went home,” he answered with a shrug. “She’s upset and Harry was frightened. The Aurors said she could leave.”

“Alas, I will have to speak with her another time. Will you please tell me what occurred here?” the Headmaster asked, looking over his glasses in an inquiring way.

“Well, we were shopping and then the Death Eaters came. We fought, they were losing, then Tom showed up and the rest, as they say, is history,” was the simple reply.

“How many Death Eaters appeared? There are too many confused people to get a complete accounting,” Albus inquired, stroking his beard. Everyone he talked to said they simply vanished, but they all indicated that this young man was the one fighting them. However, they couldn’t pin anything on him, since they didn’t know what spells he was casting.

“I’m not sure, but I only see three now, though there were more,” Hydrus answered, doing his best to look innocent and bewildered.

“And you do not know what befell the others? The witnesses could only say they disappeared, though they could not say how. There were wards to prevent portkeys into and out of the Alley, which is why we and the Aurors were so late in coming. We had to come in from the apparation points and they are further down the street, as you know,” he said almost apologetically.

“Nope, I have no idea how they disappeared, one minute we were fighting, the next they were gone. Perhaps the wards were keyed to them,” he lied, waving away the reason and hoping the Marauders didn’t blow his story. He knew that they all now knew how he neutralized the Death Eaters and that he had two wands. He just hoped Remus would keep to his vow and not tell his secrets.

“Yes, that is what James and Sirius said, though Remus would not answer,” Dumbledore said thoughtfully, looking over his spectacles at the young man as if he was trying to figure him out, which he was. He had no idea who this young man was or what was his purpose with the Potters. He knew that Tom wasn’t gone and was completely baffled that it was Lily that defeated him —for now. He was surer than ever that young Harry would be the one to rid the world of Voldemort when the time came. He would have to offer his protections to the young couple. 

“Are you accusing me of something?” Hydrus asked with a tilt of his head, not liking that inquisitive look one bit. He was a bit miffed that the werewolf wouldn’t defend him, but understood that he at least didn’t turn on him. That was something.

“Not in the least, my boy. I am merely curious as to what happened to the Death Eaters,” Albus said quickly, moving his wrinkled hands in a placating gesture.

“I really don’t know,” Hydrus fibbed with a straight face.

“Will you, by any chance, let the Aurors inspect your wand? Not that I am accusing you of misconduct, however, they are checking all wands and I wish for you to be able to leave, so that you and the others may console poor Lily,” the old man said, waving one of the red-robed people over. “Taking a life is a terrible thing.”

“I have no issue with that. You’re right, we should get back to Mrs. Potter,” the immortal answered, thanking Merlin that he switched wands. The wand was inspected and there were only shielding and defensive curses on it and one transfiguration spell, which Hydrus explained was to block a curse, so it was given back. The Auror told the immortal to come in and give his story. “I’ll bring Mrs. Potter, along with our barristers,” the immortal promised, which made the man wrinkle his nose.

Soon enough they were allowed to leave the Alley and the men made their way to the apparation point. They got back to the Potters’ and were surprised to see a crying Lily; she had been so full of fire in the fight. Harry was nowhere in sight, so they assumed she put him down for a nap before she broke. Well, the Marauders were surprised, but Hydrus knew exactly what was wrong. She had taken a life and no matter how justified it was people almost always broke down afterwards—especially good people.

“Shhh,” he said, going up to her and gathering her in his arms. “Shhh, it will be okay,” he whispered, stroking her hair. He thought about the first time he took a life and poured his caring and strength into the hug.

“I don’t understand. He was evil. Why do I feel so bad?” Lily wailed near hysterics, clinging to his shirt and hoping he had the answers. Taking comfort in the older man’s arms, she knew he knew how it felt. He was a good man.

“It is never easy,” Hydrus replied in a gentle voice, still petting her hair and gently rocking her.

James came up and took his wife from the oldest Black, cooing and whispering platitudes. He rocked her softly until she cried herself out. He had no idea what to say, he had never taken a life.

She sat up and wiped her tears. “I think I’ll take a page out of Hydrus’ book and get some therapy,” she said with a decisive nod of her head.

“Anything you want, sweetheart,” James said, still holding her firmly at his side.

“Here’s the number to the clinic I used to go to, they have very good counselors there,” Hydrus said, calling a business card from his space. “Speaking of numbers,” he pulled out four cell phones, “I’ve been meaning to give these to you guys.” He handed them out, hoping to get Lily’s mind off the day’s events.

“What are they?” Sirius asked, eyeballing the small device, hoping it wasn’t educational.

“They’re phones. These are called cell phones, they won’t be on the market for a while, so you can only use them in private or an emergency,” Hydrus explained and then proceeded to show them how they worked, by calling Sirius’s phone, making the poor man drop it when it rang.

It took over an hour and by that time Harry had woken from his nap. The immortal went and got him. After making sure he was clean, he went downstairs and put the tot in his playpen, giving him a letter board. He then volunteered to make lunch, letting James and Lily cuddle on the couch.

After making a simple meal of ham and cheese sandwiches and crisps, he called everyone to the table. Lily looked to be doing much better and they talked of non-important subjects. They decided to spend the rest of the day relaxing in front of the telly.

“Sirius,” Hydrus said, pulling the man aside as Lily put in a comedy movie. “I need you to get going on the reforming Black family. We need to get that necklace.” His face showed just how imperative it was. “Now that Tom is in wraith form, we can take him out without a fight.”

“Right, I’ll get on some posts tomorrow. I was hoping to put it off for a week, but if you say it needs to be done now, I’ll work harder,” Sirius said firmly. There was no way he was going to let Lily’s heroics be in vain.

“Thanks, if we get the horcrux then Lily never has to worry about the Dork Lord showing up again,” he said as he clapped the other man on the shoulder. They rejoined the rest and finished watching the movie. When it was done, the three men that didn’t live there left and the Potters settled on the couch. Harry was banging on his new letter board, which thankfully Hydrus lowered the volume on. Lily and James were watching a love story, to keep the mood relaxed.

**Hphphp**

Hydrus made his way home, noting the owls in the air and the fireworks in the sky. He shook his head and wondered why they thought Voldemort gone, when the entire Alley had seen his wraith. He made it home and called the vengeful spirits to him.

They appeared before him in all their gruesome glory, well, not all of them, but most. A large portion had been tortured before they died and were bloody or missing body parts, while a few had simply been cut down by the Killing curse, so they were whole.

“I need you to find Tom Riddle and watch him. I doubt he will hide under the charm now,” the Master of Death ordered. “Haunt him ruthlessly, make sure he doesn’t try and find someone who will give him a body,” he demanded, not wanting them to misunderstand the order.

The ghosts all nodded and floated away. So Hydrus went about his nightly routine, doing some research, exercising his martial arts skills and then meditated. He hoped Sirius would do as he said he was going too, because if they couldn’t get that necklace then they were screwed.


	8. We Have a Problem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Winter_Weasley, alix33 and darrelldeam for looking this over. All mistakes are my own.

The next morning James went out and picked up copies of The Daily Prophet, The Quibbler and Witch Weekly. They all had similar headlines:

**The Witch-Who-Vanquished He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.**

The Prophet went on about how she was a Muggle-born and how her family had been in hiding. It theorized that Mrs. Lily Potter née Evans used a cutting spell on the Dark Lord’s neck, which was true, but they were hinting that it might not have been a household charm. It continued to say that the Ministry was sure that You-Know-Who was now gone and they were going to award the Witch-Who-Vanquished the Order of Merlin: First Class.

The Quibbler was waxing poetic on the smartness of the Witch-Who-Vanquished and was more resourceful in its reporting. Xeno gave a full accounting of the battle and the wraith that appeared. He made sure that people understood this was not the end of You-Know-Who. There was even a picture of the phantom floating above Diagon Alley. It was too bad not many people took his publication seriously. Especially when he said that it was the Bumbling Humbringers that whispered in her ear what to do and misdirected her spell.

Witch Weekly was reporting that the Witch-Who-Vanquished was an example of just how strong women were. They were going on and on about how she was now the role model to younger witches.

Two out of three weren’t bad articles, which was good odds.

Lily groaned at the new nickname. “That’s almost as bad as the Boy-Who-Lived,” she whinged, her head in her hands.

“I just hope it blows over,” James said thoughtfully, rubbing her back in commiseration. 

“I don’t want to think about all this right now. I’m going to make breakfast.” She got up and went into the kitchen and pulled out the makings for boiled eggs and soldiers. Harry started to babble from his crib, so James just shook his head and went to tend to his son. The Potters enjoyed the meal and then the family retired to the living room, all playing with Harry’s number board. It was a comfortable morning.

Hydrus came about ten, with the papers tucked under his arm. When he saw that they already had them he just chuckled and put his away. He gave Lily a tight hug and asked her if she felt better. She nodded on his shoulder that she was, so he grinned. “So you already know what they’re calling you? You’re going to need to put up mail wards soon,” he teased with a smile as he took his seat.

“Oh, Merlin,” she groaned, putting her head in her hands at that reminder. “Can you do it?” she asked, looking at him hopefully. James sat at her side and patted her back. Harry was in his playpen, banging on his number board and making all the colors light up.

“Well, the Fidelius will keep everyone from finding you, but you’ll need a redirect ward on the house, so you can reply to them. Believe me, if you want them to stop worshiping you then you need to make sure they understand that you were just a mum protecting your kid,” he answered, causing her to groan again. He got up and placed the wards, called Tippy and warned her that post would be coming to the house and to just check it for curses and then dump it in a Mokeskin bag. The little house elf agreed and popped away.

It was at that time Sirius and Remus showed, both bearing the newspapers. They saw James’s copies and repeated Hydrus’ actions, by chuckling and putting theirs away. “So, Lily, how does it feel to be the Witch-Who-Vanquished?” Sirius asked with a huge smile.

Lily groaned again and once more buried her head in her hands.

“Sirius, did you send your letters?” Hydrus asked, hoping to take the focus off the hiding woman.

“Yeah, I’m calling a family meeting with all the elders, but not my mum or Grandfather. I’m hoping to go over some of my plans with them,” the younger Black answered as he took his seat.

“Lily,” Remus said gently. “How are you feeling?” he asked as he took his seat on the sofa.

“I’m much better this morning, thank you for asking,” she said, raising her head up and giving a reassuring smile. It looked weak, but it was there.

Remus nodded thoughtfully. He had been up all night weighing what happened with his prior misgivings. He knew Lily wasn’t Dark, so he had to think that maybe Hydrus wasn’t either. However, she used a household spell, whereas the time traveller used Darker spells. His mind ran both scenarios and it had kept him up all night, flipping back and forth with each point of view.

“Well, now we can start trying to get the mall up.” Hydrus clapped his hands together in excitement, once again trying to divert attention to a new subject. “I want to get the newspaper up and running as well, so someone is going to have to tell the Lovegoods where the Crumpled Horned-Snorkack is.”

“Why don’t you send them an anonymous letter like you did last time?” Sirius asked, with a quirk of an eyebrow.

“I might do that,” Hydrus answered, though he was hoping to not have to resort to that again, but he really didn’t see any way around it for this.

He still didn’t have any idea what to do about the Room of Requirements or the cleansed horcruxes, barring the necklace, which he hoped to have soon. While in the last timeline, the security measures Albus put up were good, people didn’t get to view the treasures often, since they were housed at Hogwarts. He was thinking about adding a museum to Diagon Alley, it was something he was going to have to talk to his lawyer about.

“Hydrus,” Lily said tentatively, drawing the older man’s attention, “exactly how much money do you have? I’m only asking so I know how much we can put in the mall and if you are going to still go into politics then you’re going to need a lot of money to do both.” She held up her hands at his stoic face. It was like he didn’t think that was a good question to ask.

“Do you really want to know?” he asked, looking around at the curious faces. Everyone nodded, so he took a deep breath and replied. “I have the equivalent of over twenty billion Galleons.”

Everyone was completely gobsmacked. That was a lot of money.

Hydrus was looking at all their awed faces. “Most of it is in gold bullion. I trade some for pound sterling and then exchange it through my attorney for Galleons. That way there are no duplicate bills or coins in circulation.” He tried to wave it off as no big deal. He failed.

Lily was awestruck and wondering how that much gold would bear on the market. She didn’t even think there was that much money in circulation. A frown creased her face at those thoughts.

“That’s more money than the Malfoys and the Potters put together,” James said in wonder. He was thinking of all the things they could accomplish with such a healthy account. Then shook his head to clear it, chastising himself for such greedy thoughts, it wasn’t his money after all. He had his own wealth and didn’t need Hydrus’ money, but if they pooled together with Sirius there wasn’t anything they couldn’t accomplish.

“It’s more than the Blacks and the Malfoys and the Potters put together,” Sirius scoffed. He didn’t think anyone was richer than his family. To have that much gold was just mind-numbing.

“How is your money going to impact the economy?” Remus asked, echoing Lily’s thoughts.

“Well, I don’t plan on throwing it around, if that’s your worry. I only plan on using a small chunk to start up everything. Then when the market is stronger add some more. Don’t worry, I’ve done this before and it had only good results,” Hydrus said a bit firmly. Things were still a bit tense between him and the werewolf.

“No, no, that is not what I meant,” Remus said quickly, making placating gestures with his hands, not wanting to fight with him. “I was only concerned about the drop in the price of gold and how Gringotts will react.”

“Oh, sorry, well, like I said, a bit at a time and there is little bearing,” the immortal answered in a much calmer voice, ignoring the comment on the goblins. In that matter, he was far too jaded to have a polite debate. “I mostly have accounts set up with the Galleons I’ve acquired since I came to this timeline. My investments are doing well and there are some other projects that are panning out. So I’ve used very little of my stash.” He didn’t even glance at Sirius, hoping the man would take the hint. “Most of my vaults are set aside for the betterment of the magical world.”

“So, we will be using your ‘gift’ vault for our politics?” James asked, going over whom they could give ‘gifts’ to and who would need better persuasions and wondering if he could contribute to the account. Maybe Hydrus would help him in investing the Potter money. He glanced fondly at his wife and child. If the older man would help then they wouldn’t have to worry about money for generations to come. Not that he wanted to stop keeping busy, but it would be a relief to know he didn’t have to.

“Yeah, that’s kinda what I set it up for,” Hydrus said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. They were all still looking at him in amazement.

“But you said that you needed income?” Sirius asked confused.

“I do, I can’t just start using the gold I brought back to do things,” Hydrus reiterated. “Which is why you guys are going to have to chip in on all our projects,” he stated as he looked between Sirius and James. 

“Why?,” the younger Black asked still confused. If he had that much money he would never work again.

“If I’m seen doing everything, there’ll be questions I can’t answer. While Hellströms doesn’t share its clients’ business, they are not impenetrable, though they are damn closer to it than Gringotts,” the older Black stated. That had happened in the last timeline, though not to the extent that charges were brought against him, but there were questions that he had to cover up fast. Thankfully, he was an excellent hacker.

“Well, the Potters are pretty well off,” James said vacantly, his mind still going over plans. “I thought we were very rich until you dropped that bombshell.” He smirked at the wealthier man.

“I thought the same of the Blacks,” Sirius scoffed again. He was also making plans on how to use that account for bringing his family together and setting up the orphanage. “Hey, now that the Dork Lord is vanquished, are we still going to be pulling our prank?” he cut a glance to Lily, who was giving him the stink eye.

“Maybe,” Hydrus hedged, glaring at Padfoot for not taking the hint. “There are going to be more questions now that _he_ is gone. All of the disappearances up to this time have been low-key. Only a few headlines, then it’s dropped. I wonder if the Minister has anything to do with that.” It was a wonder that Crouch hadn’t been up in arms that his son was gone.

“More than likely,” Lily agreed with a nod.

“Well, they’ll have a field day now,” the immortal predicted. “Lily, you need to contact your solicitor to accompany you when you go in for your report. I don’t trust the Ministry. They might try and make you a scapegoat, since you’re Muggle-born. So, I’ll go with you with Mr. Jasper’s partner, Mr. Fritz.”

“Oh dear, I forgot, I’ll owl him right now.” And she got up to go to the upstairs study.

“Why aren’t you using Mr. Jasper?” Sirius asked with a tilt of his head. “The way you go on about him, he sounds like a good lawyer to have at your side.”

“Mr. Jasper is a business solicitor, Mr. Fritz is a criminal one,” was the simple answer.

“Oh, right.”

The money issue was dropped, but not forgotten and the men spent the day relaxing and killing pixel enemies. Lily finished her letter and then settled for a family day by entertaining Harry. They kept the atmosphere relaxed and calm.

“Hydrus,” Lily said as she sat after putting Harry to bed, “I tried to use my cell phone to call the clinic, but it didn’t work.”

“Oops I forgot, there are no towers, you’re going to have to get a house phone or use a pay phone. These phones can be used with one another, thanks to magic, but until the non-magicals get towers up, or I set up the crystals, that’s all they’ll be good for,” the immortal said sheepishly, he had forgotten all that. Too used to living in the future.

“Oh, okay, are there charmed house phones?” his mum asked, looking around the room to see where they could put and jack.

“Yeah, but you still have to have a phone line.”

“I’ll set it up,” James offered and they settled into watching a movie.

The weeks went by in a flurry of lawyers, the Ministry, the headlines and post. The full moon came and Remus loved the potion and the cellar was all that Hydrus said it would be. He was rethinking his opinion of the man, again, and coming to the conclusion that he was wrong.

When they went in for their reports, both Hydrus and Lily were questioned about their affiliation with the Dark Lord, like they were some of his unmarked minions. The solicitors protested heatedly and said that there was no proof of that and if they didn’t change their line of questioning then there would be a lawsuit. The matter was dropped and Lily was handed the Order of Merlin: First Class without much ceremony.

On one hand, it pissed her off, they shuffled her aside because she was Muggle-born. On the other hand, she was glad there weren’t many people around, the crowds were enough as it is.

While Lily was getting her reward, Hydrus snuck in to the Improper Use of Magic Office and transfigured Umbridge, this time into a rock. He made it back just in time to see Lily was ready to leave. He came up to her and gave her a sloppy grin, took her elbow and guided her to the Floo. She shook her head and let him take her home.

The next morning, The Prophet and The Quibbler both carried articles on the reward with pictures of Minister Bagnold handing it to her and shaking her hand, so Lily was somewhat appeased. Witch Weekly mostly talked about what she wore and what a great role model she was.

Lily spent most of her days signing a form letter that read:

**_Dear (_ ** _Insert name here **)**_

**_Thank you for you kind words. I feel I must inform you that I am not a powerful witch who rivals Dumbledore. I am a devoted housewife and mother, who was only protecting her child. Voldemort was taken down by a kitchen charm that most witches use daily. The only reason he fell was because I was hidden in an alley and he was fighting someone else. This is something we can all learn from. Even the simplest spell can be used to fight an enemy. Take heart in my story and protect your loved ones._ **

**_(_ ** _If a gift or money was given **) Your gift/donation was most appreciated, however, I would prefer you give to charity as I have few needs thanks to my wonderful husband. I hear there is an orphanage being built by the Black family and they would cherish your donations.**_

**_Thank you again_ **

**_Lily Potter_ **

It was simple and courteous and Lily hoped it stopped all the worshiping. She wanted to be able to walk down Diagon Alley without having to fight off the well-wishers. Hydrus warned her that it might take a while, but the note was a good start. Thanks to Tippy she didn’t get many bad letters, those that she did get she ignored. There was no way she’d change the mind of those pureblood bigots. Gifts and donations were given to charity.

Hydrus, James and Sirius had filled out paperwork for the purchase of the buildings. They split the cost three ways and then later they would divide the profits the same. Remus took Hydrus up on his offer of a loan and started stocking his new book store. The four men were very busy.

Hydrus was right, the papers were reporting on all the people who disappeared. There was talk that a new Dark Lord was recruiting and keeping his army hidden. Crouch Sr. was offering a reward for the whereabouts of his son, still in denial that he was a Death Eater. Bagnold was also proposing recompenses for the missing purebloods. The immortal was decorating his garden with rocks, and admiring his button collection.

Gringotts was at a standstill on the missing persons’ accounts, because their magic told them that the Heads of the families weren’t dead, so they couldn’t turn the vaults over to the heirs and most pure-blood wives had limited access. They too were asking for information on the missing men, but didn’t offer a reward.

The families like the Lestranges had their vaults completely frozen, as there were no heirs. The goblins were scrambling to try and find the next in line. If the owners of the vaults didn’t show in one year’s time, then they could be turned over to second family line. Narcissa was the front runner, since she was Bellatrix’s sister, Andromeda declined anything to do with the vault. Though Sirius was making a good argument, well, his grandfather was as Head of Family.

Hydrus and Sirius took up their criminal activity again and gutted the empty houses. They ran into others who had gotten the same idea, but since Hydrus had the blast gun, he and Sirius succeeded where the others failed. They had to retreat and come back a few times, but they were never caught.

Almost a month flew by before Dumbledore finally caught up with James, since Lily was still hiding in the house, though she did get the Chocolate Frog book published, so she wasn’t idle.

“Ah, James, my boy, I was wondering if I could have a word,” the Headmaster said as he approached the four men, three of whom had just finished talking to their solicitors.

“Sure, Albus, what can I do for you?” James said, giving wary glances to the others, who stood stoically at his side. They would let him handle it and only jump in if asked a direct question.

“Good morning to all of you,” Albus said with a big smile and then turned to James. “I was most disheartened when you did not come to the last Order meeting,” that disappointed look crossed the old man’s face. He had disbanded the Order with the warning they could reconvene at any time. Since most of the group had seen the wraith, they all stated they would stay on guard and try to be prepared for You-Know-Who’s return.

“I was with Lily and didn’t see the need in attending. The Dork Lord is gone for now, and there is little we, as a group, can do. All of his minions seemed to have vanished,” James explained with a casual shrug. It was decided among the family to just not attend the last meeting, knowing what was going to happen. Well, Remus did and confirmed that the Order was dispersed.

“So Remus told us. That was very kind of you to take Lily’s feelings in account. You are a wonderful husband and father,” the Headmaster praised, there was a gleeful twinkle in his eyes; like he was happy James put his family first. “Now, since Voldemort is indeed weakened, can you not speak his name?” came the gentle reprimand.

“Well, we don’t really know if and when he might be back, so, no, I think I’ll stick with the nicknames or Tom,” the oldest Potter said, running a hand through his hair.

“I was wondering if you could impart your secret now that it is safe. I would like to discuss the future with you and your lovely wife. There are things that need to be told so you can prepare,” Dumbledore said, stroking his beard and letting the name debate drop. He looked to Hydrus knowing he was the keeper. The immortal simply kept a passive face. It was up to James.

“Well, like I said, we’re not sure when Tom will be back, so we’re keeping the wards up. If this is about the prophecy, I think that Lily’s defeating the… man nullifies it,” James said, a curious note in his voice.

“Alas, I think perhaps Lily’s efforts only delayed the inevitable,” was the temperate argument.

“Let me talk to Lily and see what she says.”

“Of course, my boy, take all the time you need,” Albus said jovially as he patted James on the shoulder. “I must be off, things to do,” he said and walked away, happy with the results of the conversation, sure they would see his way once he told them the full prophecy. 

Sirius, Hydrus and James shook their heads, Remus just looked thoughtful and they all continued to the buildings at the end of the Alley. There were five empty ones and three others that were still occupied, all of them standing three stories high. There was also plenty of space behind them, like a large alley that was used as a buffer for non-magical London. That and judicious use of expansion charms would make enough room.

The meeting that they just came from would see the ones still in use vacated in a week’s time. They had made sure the shop owners would not suffer for the time they were closed and had enough money to relocate their flats, which were above the shops.

They were going over plans and making decisions on just how to build up this new shopping center. James wanted to make it blend with Diagon Alley, while Hydrus wanted something more modern. Sirius and Remus threw in suggestions every now and then, but for the most part let them argue. The two men decided to let Lily be the tiebreaker and they went to the Potters.

Lily had just put Harry down for a nap when they entered, still debating. They all took their seats and turned to the amused witch. “Lily, maybe you can settle a debate me and James are having,” Hydrus said.

“Tell me,” she said, looking at the stubborn faces.

“Well, James wants to make the mall blend in with the Alley. I want something more modern, like the malls in the non-magical world,” the immortal said with a huff.

“Well, last time you kept your shops in time with the world, do you plan on doing the same or are you thinking of putting in more futuristic appliances, tellies and devices?” she asked, that would help her make a decision.

“I haven’t decided, on one hand, more high-tech devices will make wizards feel better and boost morale. On the other hand, they haven’t learned yet to keep themselves hidden, let alone new and different items. That and the purebloods will use advanced items as a reason to reform their platform. Also, if I keep it in time for now, there is room to grow. Then there’s the fact that the book-readers are already on the market, so I don’t know,” he said, rubbing the back of his head. There were just too many variables.

It had taken quite a lot of arguing with everyone, but the conclusion was that Hydrus would get the patent for the book-readers, using his own rune array, and slip money into Frostwell’s account via his lawyer. They didn’t want to wait until the other man invented them, but the time traveller made sure to write the other inventor and tell him to watch the non-magical world for great inventions, like the video arcades, which had made the other man a lot of money in the other timeline.

“All of those are good points. If you want my opinion keep it in time for now, but grow faster than the non-magical world, you might even want to dabble in that world to jumpstart their imagination,” she said tapping her chin.

“Sounds reasonable,” Hydrus agreed.

“As for the mall, I think a mixture of both, for example, slated walls and roof on the outside, but white interior with the better lighting on the inside.” She couldn’t wait to see the sunlight spell Hydrus had told them about. It would give off a nice autumn like glow on all the windows with the temperatures kept in the warm range. They would’ve put it on their windows here, but there was no way to dim it during the night. The immortal said he was working on it. In the meantime, he had set up more modern ceiling lights that worked with a motion spell. He had put them up in all their homes.

“That’s what I tried to tell them, but they’re stubborn,” Sirius said exasperated, throwing his hands in the air.

“You’re right, Padfoot, we should’ve listened to you, you are, after all, the third partner,” James said sheepishly, while Hydrus smirked and Sirius huffed.

“Now that that is decided, Remus, how goes the store?” Hydrus asked, turning to the werewolf.

“It is open and doing good business. I am glad you decided to market the book-readers, they are making quite a profit on the magical side.” He was pleased he had taken the time traveller up on his loan. He was settling in as a store owner rather well and couldn’t wait for magicals to start writing non-fiction. From what Hydrus had showed him, those books were going to be wonderful. The Chocolate Frog book was already flying off the shelves and Lily was making a lot of money.

“Sirius, how goes the orphanage?” Hydrus asked, changing the subject. He was content with his growing relationship with the werewolf. Though he knew they’d never see eye to eye on killing or what he had done with the Death Eaters.

“Up and running, we used the same methods you did in the last timeline and now have ten squib children off the streets,” was the excited answer. “Aunt Callidora worked wonders with the children’s department. We didn’t even have to resort to bribing; she just plowed in and made him give up the names. We hired Ms. Cartwright, who was more than happy to have the job. Thanks to Lily’s letters we’re getting tons of donations.” He beamed proudly at the Witch-Who-Vanquished.

“So the family is pulling together?” Hydrus asked, still worried about the horcrux. If Sirius could get that all the worries about the Dork Lord would be over.

“Yup, it took a few meetings and some threats, but they are starting to get the picture. Uncle Cygnus was the first to come over, after I told him about Nymphadora.” He all but bounced out of his chair; the praise he received from his grandfather got them closer to their goal in getting the horcrux. “Mummy dearest is right put out about the family’s changes. She sent me a howler,” Sirius grinned like a loon.

“Well, that’s good,” the older Black said with some confusion in his voice. Who would be happy about getting a howler?

“Hydrus, did you write the Lovegoods?” Lily asked, bringing everyone’s attention to her.

“Yeah, I sent them a note telling them where the creature was with the suggestion that their publication would do better in France.” It had been a hard letter to write, he didn’t want to come off as threatening, just give them the nudge they needed to have a good life.

“So if they move you won’t have to deal with Pandora? I’m not sure that’ll work,” she said thoughtfully.

“I might have slipped in some modifications to her spell crafting. She doesn’t use runes, but I studied her stuff after she died and improved some of it,” Hydrus confessed sheepishly. While he didn’t give her the rune array he and George invented, there were things in that missive that would help Mrs. Lovegood further along her own creations and probably save her life. If they moved to France, then she could open her own businesses and he knew that that country loved the Quibbler.

“You’re such a good man,” Lily said proudly, making him blush with the praise, which to him was weird, since he was over ninety years old.

“Lily,” James said, taking her attention away from the blushing man, “Dumbledore wants to visit and I, for the life of me, can’t think of a reason to deny him. He said he has something important to tell us. It may be the entire prophecy, but we can go to the Department of Mysteries and hear it for ourselves. I told him I’d talk to you.”

She sat and thought about that and couldn’t think of any reason either. Any excuse they came up with would sound like they didn’t trust the old goat and they didn’t want to make an enemy of him. She sighed and shook her head. “I can’t either. Hydrus?”

Remus kept silent; in the last month he had become indebted to the time traveller and learned to keep his opinions to himself. He had been questioning the things the Headmaster had done for him and wondered if he was truly the only werewolf to have ever been schooled at Hogwarts. He stayed up many nights researching, contemplating the facts and the devotion he felt towards Albus. Now that the Order was gone, he didn’t have the overwhelming need to defend the man, which made visits to this house much more pleasant. However, he still respected Dumbledore.

“It’s your house, if you want Albus to have the secret, it’s your decision. Like I’ve said in the past, he is not a bad man, just… wrong.” He shrugged his shoulders; his opinion of Dumbledore was prejudiced. He was still upset with the man for leaving him with the Dursleys knowing that he would suffer, in addition to all the times he had to fight for his life at Hogwarts. However, when Harry from the last timeline didn’t suffer from life-threatening situations, the immortal curbed his moody thoughts, slightly.

“Tell him we’ll think about it, but if he wants we can meet in non-magical London to discuss whatever it is he feels he needs to tell us,” Lily compromised.

“Sure, I’ll owl him later,” James said.

That decided they turned their conversation back to the building of the mall and what shops they would be putting in, how much money each of them would contribute and what to do when the shopping center was erected.

Another week went by with little incidence, they did some paperwork, answered letters and now that all the shops were cleared, were building the mall. They hoped to have it up and running by Christmas. It was after that week they got some bad news.

It was Halloween morning and the Potters, Hydrus and Remus were enjoying a breakfast of sausage and pancakes, when a much panicked Sirius came into the house. “We have a problem,” the dogman said frantically. He was pacing up and down the dining room, gripping his hair in frustration. His face was warped into mixture of guilt and fright.

“Whoa, Sirius, slow down and sit,” Lily said, motioning to a chair. When he sat she said, “Take a deep breath and tell us what’s wrong.”

Sirius did as ordered and started, shooting a guilty look at Hydrus, “Mum’s gone.”

“What!?” the immortal exploded, standing and knocking down his chair, making Harry cry. He took calming breaths and picked up the toddler, made shushing noises and rocked him. When he got Harry to stop crying he sat and fired off important questions, “When did she go? Did she take everything with her? What about Kreacher?”

“I don’t know, yes, and he’s gone too,” were the wary answers.

“Sirius, why are you feeling guilty?” Lily asked, laying a hand on his arm.

“I’ve been taunting her. Telling her what I’m going to do with her when I get to be the Head of House. If I had just left her alone, she wouldn’t have done a runner,” he confessed, hanging his head in shame.

“Dammit, Sirius,” Hydrus spat and then ran a hand down his face. He needed to leave before he said anything hurtful. “I have to go for a while; hopefully, I’ll be back in about an hour.” He got up and left the house.

“Oh, Sirius,” Lily said, still trying to console the distraught man.

“Padfoot, do you realize what you’ve done?” James asked as he too tried to remain calm. This was bad.

“Before we get all upset, how about we go to Grimmauld Place and make sure there is a reason to worry? For all we know, Kreacher may have left the necklace behind,” Remus suggested. He knew it was a long shot, but tempers may cool while they were looking.

“I already looked once, but more eyes could be helpful,” Sirius said, grabbing any hope.

“Okay,” James conceded, though he too knew it was doubtful that the horcrux was still at the house.

“You guys go, I’ll stay and tend to Harry,” Lily said, picking up the toddler and heading up the stairs.

“Right, let’s do this,” Sirius said, squaring his shoulders and making his way to the Floo.

The three men went to the dark and dreary house. It was clean, but the draperies were all black or dark green, making the house a mass of shadows. The busts were creepy and hideous, twisted as if they were being tortured. The pictures sneered and taunted the men as they passed.

Sirius led them to the drawing room, where they knew the horcrux had been before, in the future, whatever. They searched the whole room and didn’t find anything. Nothing was hidden in the walls, every trinket and Dark item was gone. They went to the kitchen and looked in Kreacher’s sleeping area, but it was completely empty. The entire house was cleared out of anything that wasn’t furniture, portraits or decorations.

The discouraged Marauders made it back to the Potters and sat in their seats.

“The house was gutted,” James said to Lily.

She sighed and got a worried look on her face, glad they hadn’t dropped the Fidelius. They were safe within the wards, but it would put a damper on her work when the shop was opened.

**Hphphp**

Meanwhile, Hydrus went home and meditated, he spent an hour trying to relax enough to come up with a plan. When he was calmer, he called the spirits haunting Tom to him.

“What has old Tom been doing?” he asked one of the mangled ghosts.

“The wraith resides in the woods of Albania. It fears us,” the apparition answered, it’s voice hauntingly cheerful.

“Has he tried to contact anyone?” the Master of Death inquired.

“No, it simply mourns its plight and talks of retaliation,” was the airy answer.

Hydrus looked around at the group of vengeful ghosts. “If anyone tries to find him or he tries to get help, I need one of you to come and tell me immediately.”

“As you bid,” the spoke-ghost said and they floated off to resume their punishment of Voldemort.

Hydrus called the spirits of anyone that might have been killed by Walburga, but none came. “Right, now to talk to the family,” he said to himself as he went to the Floo.


	9. Trading Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Winter_Weasley, alix33 and darrelldeam for looking this over. All mistakes are my own.
> 
> Someone pointed out that Sirius and Hydrus should have gutted Grimmuald Place, all I can say is that I missed that, but it now fits into my plot. 
> 
> The part about Regulus’s ghost came from the reviewer, Riniko22 @ffn. Many of you suggested the scenes with Kreacher, which I was already planning, so good guess. Thanks to all of you who support this story, your reviews and suggestions help it along.

Hydrus made his way back to the Potters. He entered the house with an air of calm. He took his seat and looked at Sirius. “When do you think your grandfather will hand over the Headship?” he asked in a neutral tone, not wanting the man to think he was still very angry.

Sirius looked thoughtful. “I don’t really know. He’s happy with what I’ve been doing so far, but this might upset him,” he answered, rubbing his goatee.

“Do you think there is any way for you to see if he can order Kreacher to give you the necklace? You can tell him all about Regulus and what Tom did, if you have to. If I remember correctly, your grandfather hates horcruxes.” It was a long shot, but he felt he had to ask.

“I’ll try. I’m really sorry that Mum did a runner. It’s all my fault,” the younger Black whinged, shooting the older Black a guilty look.

“Look, I know how much you hate your mum, so I’m willing to overlook it as long as we get that necklace,” the immortal said firmly.

The immortal berated himself for not just robbing that damn place blind. _Why did we mess around so much with the other manors, when the horcrux was so much more important_? _I guess I was just so sure we’d get it without any problems, since they were empty. So stupid. Oh well, lesson learned; don’t trust your knowledge of the future. After the last timeline I should have known that,_ he thought with a mental shake of his head. He’d take some of the blame along with Sirius later, not wanting Lily to know of their… prank.

“I’ll talk to Grandfather tomorrow,” Sirius said, breaking the other man from his thoughts of self-recrimination.

“Good, that’s good,” Hydrus said, and changed the subject. “Now, let’s see if we can relax and take our minds off this for now. What’s done is done, and until we hear from Arcturus our hands are tied,” Hydrus said, then turned to Lily. “Is there afters?” he asked, giving her the puppy eyes.

Lily laughed and went to get the pumpkin cakes she had made, along with tea. They spent the rest of the evening enjoying the treats and talking about family that had passed, as was wizard custom on All Hollow’s Eve. While they praised the heroic deeds of the dead and remembered them fondly, they were all thankful that no one here died on this night.

Hydrus looked at the Potters and wondered what he had changed by saving them. He couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was not happy that they survived. He shook his head at that, and continued the talks of the past. The future would take care of itself.

When they were done and it got close to time to leave, Hydrus pulled Sirius aside. “I wanted to tell you that I feel partially to blame for your mum disappearing. We should’ve hit Grimmauld Place and taken the damn horcrux. Sorry to put all the blame on you.” He grimaced at the reminder that he wasn’t all-knowing. Now that the Potters were alive, nothing he knew from his two other timelines was valid. Pandora was in France and making a good living. The public knew nothing about him, so they were less likely to mark him as a Dark Lord. He hadn’t started up his businesses so that was going to be different. He actually felt a bit flat footed.

“Yeah, well you can’t think of everything. No, it’s my fault she’s gone. If I hadn’t taunted her she’d still be here and we could’ve done what you said.” Sirius refused to put any of the blame on Hydrus; it was because of his own foolishness that they were in this mess.

“Whatever,” Hydrus said, seeing Sirius wouldn’t be swayed. “I have to go, it’s getting late.” He clapped Sirius on the back, hugged Lily and shook hands with James and Remus. Then he went home.

“What did Hydrus say to you, Sirius?” James asked, hoping the older man hadn’t taken his best mate to task too harshly.

“He wanted to take some of the blame for not getting the necklace,” Padfoot hedged, shooting a wary glance at Lily, which James caught and nodded, knowing what it was about. 

“How was any of this his fault?” Lily asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“I can’t tell you, Lily,” Sirius said, rubbing the back of his head. “It’s a secret between Hydrus and me. I can tell you he feels that he should have done something to get the horcrux sooner, what with his knowledge of the future,” he offered her something to get that look off of her face.

Lily huffed and gave him the stink eye, then flopped on the sofa, not buying that lame excuse. James just chuckled and sat next to her, rubbing her arm. Sirius and Remus said their goodnights and went home. James and Lily went to bed, and tried to make Harry a sister.

The next day, Lily got a letter she had been waiting for, it was from the Flamels. In it they said that they knew of a few immortals that were female. They said they had a secret to share and asked if Lily could meet them in non-magical London next month. She quickly wrote them back and said it would be no problem.

James also got a letter from Dumbledore. He conceded to meeting them at John’s Eatery, since it had the best chocolate cake in all of the United Kingdom. Hydrus laughed at this and told them that’s where they had first talked to Remus in the last timeline, for much the same reason. James chuckled and wrote Albus back saying that they could meet the next day.

“Lily,” Hydrus asked, looking up from the game of numbers he and Harry were playing, “what are you going to do about Harry’s education? In the last timeline, we homeschooled him and he did really well, if I do say so myself.” He puffed his chest in mock self-importance, and then broke out in a grin.

“I was thinking of sending him to a non-magical school and to see if we can’t get other magicals to do the same,” Lily answered, tucking her red hair behind her ear.

“That’s a good idea. If you make sure to tell them that state schools are free and offer lunch, albeit not a tasty one, then it shouldn’t be a problem. You can get the paperwork you need from the Department of Family Services, where Sirius and his cousin are getting the names of squibs. They handle the non-magical paperwork for the children,” he suggested and went back to his game with the tot.

“Maybe, you can run an article in The Times when you get it up and running,” James suggested, drawing the immortal’s attention back to the conversation.

“That’s not a bad idea either. We should be getting that up and running by the time the mall is open. They’ll have an office just outside the mall. Or you can get a pamphlet printed and have it in your bookstore,” he suggested, looking at Lily, who got a contemplative look on her face.

Harry banged his little hands on the number board, drawing a chuckle from Hydrus and they went back to the game.

The next day, Sirius came in with a thoughtful look on his face. He sat in his chair and looked at the older Black. “Grandfather said that if you come and meet him, he’ll call Kreacher and demand the necklace.”

“How did he know you knew me?” the immortal asked, not mad, but miffed. He really wanted to put off meeting the cantankerous man. It hadn’t gone well the first time, and he didn’t see it going well this time either. That man was very self-righteous.

“Someone told him about all the times we were in the Alley,” was the casual reply, complete with a wave of a hand.

“Right, I should’ve figured that out,” Hydrus said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Well, he knew he appeared on the family tree, but he didn’t know how the old man knew he knew Sirius. This only made sense, since the four men had spent loads of time in the Alley with the work that was going on for the mall. “Tell him we’ll meet sometime soon, let him set the date.”

“I can do that,” the dogman said as he pulled out pen and parchment to write the missive, he’d send it off later today.

“We have to go and meet Albus. Will you guys be okay with Harry?” Lily asked, getting up from the sofa and putting on her coat. James joined her at the door, grabbing his own jacket and putting it on.

“Yeah, no problem. Good luck with the old man,” Hydrus said, waving a hand in the air and not looking up from teaching Harry.

They had decided that Lily would drive Hydrus’ car. So they popped to his house and got the Mercedes out of his garage and went to the Eatery. Albus was sitting at one of the booths. He was wearing an old-fashioned tweed suit, which was very out of place in a diner that had people clad in blue jeans and T-shirts.

The Potters joined him, much more casually dressed, and ordered some of the famous chocolate cake and some coffee. The three of them greeted each other and when the order came, the Headmaster put up a silencing ward.

“Thank you very much for coming to meet me. I have some important news to impart to you,” Albus said, taking a bite of the cake and then humming in appreciation, and getting crumbs in his long beard, which he wiped away.

“No problem, Albus,” James said, taking a sip of his coffee. “Tell us what it is that you think we need to hear.” Lily looked on as she too enjoyed the dessert.

“I wanted to give you the entire prophecy,” Dumbledore said, leaning over to talk more quietly, even though he had erected wards. He gave them the prophecy and both the Potters chuckled and looked at the old man.

“Well, that is informative, but what does it have to do with us? I mean, Harry isn’t marked, we’ve defied the Dork Lord four times, not three, and our son certainly doesn’t show that he has any powers Tom doesn’t,” Lily said, ticking off the inconsistencies with her fingers.

“Also, Harry isn’t showing any sign that he is more powerful than any other child. So he being Tom’s equal is out as well. Heck, you can’t even say that this prophecy applies to Neville either, for much the same reasons,” James added, still chuckling at the stupidity of the prophecy.

“Perhaps, you are correct,” Albus said, stroking his beard, making crumbs fall. “I just cannot shake the feeling this prophecy still relates to young Harry.” He shook his head, he really couldn’t think of anyone else it applied to. He had mulled it over many times and still came back to the Potters and the Longbottoms, since they were the only wizard families with a child born as the seventh month died.

“Albus, thanks to my popularity, we’re behind some pretty impressive wards. Harry is very well protected,” Lily said, finishing off her delicious cake, rolling her eyes in pleasure.

“Alas, I feel they may not be enough. Would you be willing to consent to me adding a few?” the Headmaster inquired, looking at the couple with a face that said they really should.

“I don’t know, Albus, these wards we have are very good. Hydrus put them up, and he does really good work. Tell you what, if you can find our house, then we’ll let you add any you wish. However, if we remain hidden then that should be proof what we say is true,” Lily said, taking a sip from her coffee. She knew Albus would never find them. There was no way the immortal would give up the secret, even if the Headmaster knew he was the Keeper was.

“Ah, a challenge. I must admit it has been quite a while since I have encountered one. Very well, I accept,” the old man said with a gleeful twinkle in his eyes. He knew who their Keeper was and it should not be hard to get the secret from such a young man.

“Great, we’ll wait for you to find it, and if you can we’ll take you up on your offer.” James beamed and took the last bite of his cake. “We should bring some of this cake home to the others. Remus will love it,” he said, changing the subject and getting up from the table and went to the counter to pay the bill and see if he could purchase an entire cake.

“It was very sweet of you to think about our wellbeing,” Lily said as her husband left, using her fork to pick up the last remains of the dessert. It was a very good cake. “I think you’ll find that we can protect ourselves. We know Tom isn’t gone, so we are taking extra precautions.”

“It does my heart good to hear that,” Dumbledore replied, his ever twinkling eyes going full force. “If ever you need anything from me, do not hesitate to ask,” he said, knowing he wasn’t going to get any further with the Potters. This challenge would keep him on his toes, but he knew he would find them and then keep watch over little Harry.

James came back to the table with a pink cake box and smiled at Albus. “Thank you for the information and the advice. I think we have it covered. Right now, we have to go, we left Sirius in charge of Harry and who knows what mischief they will get up to.” He glanced at Lily hoping she got is hint.

“Oh dear,” Lily played along, getting up from the table and also smiling at the Headmaster.

“It has been most enjoyable. We should perhaps do it again some other time,” Dumbledore said, then took the last drink of his coffee and rose from the table.

They parted ways at the door, the Potters getting in the car, while the Headmaster ducked into an alley. Lily drove them back to Hydrus’ and parked it in the garage. They Apparated back to their home and entered just in time to see Harry flying on the toy broom, squealing in delight as he chased the cat.

“Who bought him that?” Lily said a bit harshly, glaring at all the adults and grabbing the poor kitty. She held the frightened feline and rounded on the men. “Why did you let him chase her?” she demanded, disappointed in all of them.

“Well,” Hydrus said, “she just came in right before you did. I was just about to grab her and put her outside, or in the kitchen. To tell the truth I didn’t even know you had a cat.”

“She’s the towns’ stray,” Lily said, putting the cat down and it bolted for the open door.

After the cat left, James closed the door and looked at the other men.

“Answer my question, who bought him that broom,” she demanded.

All four of the men looked back with faces of innocence, while Harry swooped around the living room. The broom didn’t rise above six inches, so most of the décor and entertainment equipment was safe-ish. The toddler was flying back and forth in the empty space between the couch and his playpen, laughing.

“Right, if he gets hurt or knocks anything over, all four of you are getting the blame,” she snapped, just as the tot ran into the telly stand, almost making it fall.

James grabbed the stand just in time to right it, and gave his wife a sheepish look, which was returned with a glare.

“We’ll watch him,” Hydrus said, breaking the staring contest and putting his hand on Harry’s shoulder to guide him back to the open space.

“You’d better.”

They played with Harry for an hour, until it was time for dinner. After a meal of fish, rice and vegetables with the cake for afters, they trooped to the living room. Hydrus volunteered to bathe the chocolate covered Harry and put him to bed, so Lily put in a film.

“How did the meeting go?” Hydrus asked as he took his seat ten minutes later.

“Very well, I think we’ve diverted his attention away from us and the Longbottoms. We pointed out a few things and that got him thinking,” James said, trying to cuddle with his still upset wife.

“Well, I wouldn’t be too sure. Albus hangs on to an idea like a dog does a bone. Just keep a look out,” the immortal warned, turning to see what movie was playing. It was a chick flick, so he looked back at James.

“Well, we might have challenged him to find the house, stating that he could add to the wards if he does,” Lily said with a sly grin, causing the immortal to glance in her direction.

“That should keep him busy, but now I’ll have to deal with him,” Hydrus groaned, making everyone laugh. “I’ll get you back for this,” he glared at the Potters.

Lily just laughed again and James smiled and nodded and they watched the movie until the other three men went home.

“Are you really that upset that Harry got a toy broom?” James asked his still miffed wife, when she shrugged his arm off her shoulders.

“I’m upset that you didn’t ask my opinion. He is too young to be using a broom, even if it is a toy one,” Lily answered, folding her arms across her chest. “Look at what he did to the cat,” she added with a huff.

“I know how you feel, but I got my first broom when I was his age. The toy brooms are safe, even if he fell it wouldn’t do more than cause a red mark,” James defended himself, trying to keep his voice neutral. “Remember, Hydrus said the cat had just come in. We really need to find out how she’s doing that.” They never could figure out how that stray kept entering their house.

“So you’ve told me,” she huffed, ignoring the cat comment for now, even though she was the one who brought it up. “I’m a mother, I’m supposed to worry. You saw how he almost toppled the stand, what if he knocks the telly over on himself? That could cause serious injury,” she argued, going over bad scenarios in her head.

“Alright, sweetheart, I’ll make sure he flies outside from now on,” the messy-haired man said, rubbing his hand up and down her arm. “How about we go and see if we can’t make you the mother of more than one child?” Now that the war was over he had no problem extending his family.

That caused Lily to smile, the thought of having a little girl always played in the back of her mind. “Yes let’s,” she purred, taking his hand and leading him up the stairs.

**Hphphp**

Hydrus went home and took a shower. He got ready for bed and then had a thought. Maybe he could call Regulus and see if he could talk to Kreacher, then he wouldn’t have to ask Arcturus any favors. “I call the spirit of Regulus Arcturus Black,” the Master of Death intoned.

Regulus appeared before him, chunks of his body gone, eaten by the Inferi. His clothes were rags, dripping ghostly water that vanished before it hit the floor. “What can I do for Death’s Master?” he bowed.

“Can you call Kreacher to you and order him to hand me the necklace?” Hydrus asked in a calm voice.

“I am very sorry to say, that will not work. Once I died I lost all control over my poor Kreacher,” the apparition answered mournfully.

“Try,” was the soft order.

“Kreacher,” Regulus said loudly.

“Who calls Kreacher in his Master’s voice?” the surly house elf asked as he popped into the room. He gave a wail when he saw the ghost of his beloved Master. “Master Regulus, is that being you? Kreacher is so very sorry he has not completed Master’s orders. He has tried and tried.” He started pulling his ears, his face warped with sorrow and distress.

“My poor devoted servant, I have seen your hardship with the task I assigned you. This man,” he pointed to Hydrus, “can help you complete your mission. Will you work with him?” the ghost asked, kneeling in front of Kreacher, passing a hand close to the distraught elf’s face.

Kreacher let out another wail and tears streamed down his face. “Kreacher cannot be taking orders or helping anyone that is not Mistress. She is forbidding it,” the old elf cried. “She is saying that the Head of family has turned on her, and that Kreacher cannot answer to them. Since she is being Kreacher’s owner Kreacher must obey.”

“I am so, so sorry, Kreacher. I hope there comes a time when you can get the help you need to finish my last order.” Once more he passed his hand over the face of the distressed house elf, as if to wipe his tears. “I know house elves can find loopholes in orders, so if you can think of any way to give the necklace to Sirius or this man, I beg that you do so. Go back to Mother before she misses you,” he ordered softly, not wanting the poor creature to be punished.

“Kreacher will be seeing what he cans do, Master,” the old elf said and with a quick glance to Hydrus he popped away.

Regulus sighed and stood to face the immortal. “That was the best I could do,” he shrugged.

“Why aren’t you with the rest of the people killed by Tom?” Hydrus wanted to know.

“While it was his trap that killed me, it was my own actions that got me there in the first place.”

“Well, I guess that make some sense. Thank you for trying, you can go now,” the Master of Death said, seeing the spirit was in pain. After Regulus disappeared, Hydrus ran a hand down his face. He had been so hopeful that the house elf’s devotion would have overridden Walburga’s orders. Giving up his thoughts as a bad job, he went to bed.

**Hphphp**

A few days later, Hydrus and Sirius went to Arcturus’ house. They were shown in by the house elf and taken to the sitting room. Arcturus looked the same as Hydrus remembered him, only he seemed more alive than last time. His face wasn’t as gaunt and his body didn’t seem as fragile, like the work Sirius was doing with the family was giving him hope. However, with the glare he was giving the immortal, it was obvious that he was upset about Hydrus being on the family tree.

The two younger Blacks took the seats indicted.

“Tell me who you are,” Arcturus demanded, tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair in agitation. 

Hydrus pulled out his pensive and said, “I have a memory that I’d like you to see, but the information is… sensitive, as in no one should know. So I can let you see it, but I need a vow that it will remain a secret.”

The senior Black lifted an eyebrow. “You would encumber someone of my age with a vow?”

“Yes, it really is that classified. Think of it as something the Department of Mysteries would love to get their hands on, but shouldn’t,” was the casual comeback. “Plus, if you view it, it’ll save a lot of time and argument.” He really hoped that was true.

“Very well,” the old man said and then he gave his vow not to reveal anything he learned today. Hydrus pulled the memory and put it in the bowl. Arcturus put his finger in the pensieve and was gone for twenty minutes. When he came out his face was white with worry and rage. “I see why you came back the first time, but you have not explained why this time.” He sat and gripped his hands on the arms of his chair.

“I wanted to save my parents,” Hydrus said with a questioning tone.

“Are they important enough that you might destroy us all with your self-interest?” the senior Black snapped.

“Well, to tell the truth, I wouldn’t know since they _died_ the last two of my timelines, but Lily Potter is the smartest witch of her age and so she might just well be important enough to save,” the immortal defended himself.

“You senseless, avaricious man, you may have just condemned us all with your self-indulgence. You will never be accepted into the Black family. None of our money will ever cross your hands. I cannot tell Sirius who he may spend time with; however, I can tell him that you will never see a Knut of the Black family fortune.” His hands were gripping the chair so tight his arms were shaking, trying not to kill the man who couldn’t die.

“I have plenty of my own gold. I’d _never_ take money from the Blacks,” was the calm rebuttal. “Look, I don’t want anything from you, except what Sirius asked, and then you’ll never have to see me again.”

“Sirius did tell me that Walburga has something that will end the reign of the Dark Lord. He tells me it is important enough that I should demand it back, however, he did not tell me why it is so important,” Arcturus said, still attempting to keep his temper in check.

Hydrus looked to Sirius with a questioning eyebrow and got a sheepish look in return. “Well, since you took the vow not to reveal anything you’ve learned today, I guess it’s safe to tell you. It’s a horcrux. It’s in Salazar Slytherin’s necklace.” He then told him of Regulus’s mission that led to his death.

Now the old man did rise and start banishing things into the walls, cussing and yelling about fools that meddled in Dark soul magic. He ranted for ten minutes, until there was nothing left to destroy. He stopped his ranting and called Kreacher.

“Head of the House of Black is wanting Kreacher?” the old elf said, giving a bow low enough for his large nose to touch the floor.

“Bring me that trice-damned necklace,” Arcturus ordered, pointing his bone like finger at the elf.

“Kreacher cannot be doing as ordered. Kreacher will punish himself for not obeying the Head of the Black family’s demands,” Kreacher said, starting to bang his head on the floor.

“Stop, you fool, I cannot talk to you if you are punishing yourself. Do it when our conversation is done. Tell me why you cannot bring me the necklace,” the old man snapped.

“Mistress is telling Kreacher he cannot be following anyone else’s orders but her own,” Kreacher repeated what he said to Regulus with wailed, pulling his ears. “Mistress says if Kreacher follows the orders of anyone she will be killing poor Kreacher.”

“I am the Head of this family, if you do not do as I say then I will kill you myself,” Arcturus said, a glint in his eyes, making Hydrus glare at the old man. Sirius was looking between the three of them unsure what to do.

“Regulus Arcturus Black,” the Master of Death intoned in a resonating voice, making everyone jump. Sirius looked at Hydrus questioningly; he didn’t know that the immortal could call the dead. Hydrus waved him away for now.

Regulus faded in and looked around the room. “Master, Grandfather, Sirius, what is going on? Poor Kreacher, why are you punishing yourself?”

Arcturus turned pale, Sirius started to cry, Kreacher gave out a mournful howl and Hydrus stated, “Tell your grandfather why he shouldn’t kill Kreacher.”

“Grandfather, you would kill my most devoted servant? Why?” the ghost asked, his eyes full of disappointment.

“H... He is disobeying me. What would you have me do?” the pale man asked, his voice shaking. “Besides, it is because of him that you died. He should have saved you.” He glared at the house elf.

“Grandfather, you know he was only following my orders. He could do no less,” chastised the apparition.

Arcturus slumped and nodded. “He still is not doing as I demanded. We need that necklace.”

“Kreacher, what are Mother’s exact orders,” the ghost asked, kneeling down to the house elf’s height.

“Mistress is saying that Kreacher cannot be following orders for anyone else. He can answer their calls, but he cannot be taking orders. Only her orders are to be obeyed. If Kreacher does not comply then he will die and his head will not hang on the wall.” The old elf bowed to his beloved Master.

“And if Grandfather frees you, then can you do as requested?” Regulus asked, his ghostly eyes gentle, though you could see the strain of him being here for so long.

“If Kreacher is freed, then he will not be bound to Mistress and can do as asked,” the frightened elf said. “Kreacher can be given clothes by any member of the Black family. Mistress cannot be stopping that.” He trembled as he spoke, clothes being a greater fear than death.

“Don’t worry, Kreacher, when Arcturus frees you, you can be bound to me. I’m a Black, so you will still be family,” Hydrus said gently, shocking everyone.

Kreacher looked at the immortal and nodded, though his shakes only lessened. 

Arcturus picked up a glove from the side table and threw it at the old elf. “You are free from your Mistress.”

“Kreacher, would you like to bond with me, Hydrus Williamsford Black?” Hydrus quickly asked, putting his hand on the creature’s head.

“Kreacher will bond with Hydrus Williamsford Black,” Kreacher agreed, just as quickly. A yellow light filled the air as the bond took.

“Great! Now that that is over, can you go and get the necklace?” the immortal asked, slapping his hands together and rubbing them. 

Kreacher nodded and popped away, leaving the three men and one apparition behind.

“Reg,” Sirius croaked, making the ghost turn to him. “I am so sorry I wasn’t there for you. I was caught up in the war, thinking that there was only Dark and Light and no shades of Grey. I should’ve seen that you needed help. I am so sorry,” he said, tears flowing down his face at the thought that his brother died a good man, doing what was right.

“It is alright, my brother. I never blamed you,” the ghost said, drifting closer to the crying man and running a hand near Sirius’s face, causing him to shiver.

“Regulus, why did you not come to me? I would have done anything to prevent your death,” the senior Black asked. “You were my heir at the time.”

“I did not want to bring shame upon the family and I knew how you felt about Death Eaters,” was the strained answer.

The Blacks fell silent. They waited for two minutes until Kreacher popped back. He had the necklace in his hand and he gave it to his new Master. “Kreacher’s ex-Mistress has vowed revenge on the House of Black for freeing Kreacher and turning on her. She is saying the Head is destroying the family, and she will fight to bring them back to the Dark,” the elf said, looking like he should start punishing himself for bringing bad news.

“That’s not good,” Sirius said, shaking his head at what his mum would do. He knew she was smarter than people thought; crazier than a loon, but she was Slytherin for a reason. There was great cunning in that woman’s head.

“Let’s take care of this,” Hydrus said, holding up the necklace. “But first, Regulus, say your good-byes, it’s time for you to leave,” the Master of Death said to the pained spirit.

“Grandfather, Sirius, all I have to say is stay together. The work Sirius is doing for the family will take us further than we ever went before. Kreacher, may you find peace,” Regulus said and then faded away.

“Hydrus, thank you, for letting me see my brother,” the emotional Sirius said, giving the immortal a big hug.

“Yes, I too thank you for giving us our valedictions,” Arcturus stated as he sat in his chair, his eyes brimming with tears, he hands once more gripping the chair’s arms.

“Right, let’s get this taken care of,” the uncomfortable Hydrus repeated. So he took out a ceramic bowl, a rag and some acid and took care of the horcrux, much to the amazement of the senior Black. He handed the necklace to Kreacher and told him to take it to his house and they’d discuss it later.

“Sirius, I give you the Headship of the House of Black,” Arcturus said as he handed the ring over and Sirius put it on, awestruck. “I ask that you continue to bring us to the Grey and when I die, cremate me. I am finished with you, for now. Leave an old man to his musings.” The said old man waved his hand to the door indicating that he was done talking. His head hung like he had some heavy thinking to do, his fingers running across his chin.

As the two younger Blacks were walking to the edge of the wards Sirius asked, “How did you bring Reg here?”

“I’m the Master of Death, but I don’t want that to get around. So you can’t tell Remus, he’s still struggling with me being a time traveller, let’s not burden him with this,” Hydrus said as they stopped to talk.

Sirius rubbed his goatee and after a minute nodded his head and they continued to where they could Apparate. The two men ventured to the Potters’. James and Remus were playing Mortal Kombat. The messy-haired wizard was losing as the werewolf took him down. Lily was reading and Harry wasn’t around, so he must be down for his nap. Sirius and Hydrus sat in their chairs and told everyone what occurred, barring Regulus.

“So Voldemort will fade now?” Remus asked from his place on the sofa.

“Yeah, but now we have to worry about Mum,” Sirius answered, very worried. His mum was a Dark Witch through and through. She had taken many books with her when she left and there was no telling what she would do.

“We’ll just have to train harder to keep her from causing too much ruckus,” Hydrus said, trying to be cheerful. “I don’t think there’s anything on horcruxes in the Black library, so we shouldn’t have to worry about that, but I’ll have Kreacher keep an eye on her.” Though his voice was cheery, his thoughts were dark and running rapidly. He was going over plans to prevent anyone from dying. He’d better write Marcius. He was more than grateful now that he had decorated his garden with pure-blood rocks. She would have a hard time if she started looking for supporters. He would have to keep his eyes on the… widows.

“Right, you still have your martial arts classes and we have all those books that are downloaded on the laptop. If we all research, we might be able to stay one step ahead of her,” Lily said thoughtfully, running her hand through her hair.

“Yes, and thankfully I didn’t get rid of the Dark books yet. They should be helpful in counter curses and such,” Hydrus said, pulling out some of those books.

“I thought you were going destroy those,” Remus said a bit of accusation in his tone.

“I was, but I hadn’t gotten around to it, what with the mall going up and all,” Hydrus said calmly as he placed the books on the coffee table.

“I guess it is a good thing,” the werewolf conceded, picking up one of the tomes and loading it into his book-reader. He handed it back to Hydrus.

They spent the rest of the day reading the Dark books off of their readers, well, Lily had to stop to take care of Harry, but the men continued until dinner.

A week went by with little happening. Albus still hadn’t found them and Walburga hadn’t made any moves on the Blacks. The ghosts told Hydrus that Voldemort was indeed fading, he had tried to use magic, but he was too weak. There was no sign of Mrs. Black finding Tom, so they were at least thankful for that.

Kreacher spied on his old Mistress and Sirius and Hydrus went to the house that the old elf said she was hiding, but when they got there it was gone. She had disappeared under the Fidelius Charm. Hydrus tried to use his blasting gun, but found it didn’t work on that charm.

The two Blacks went home disappointed. They told the Potters the next day and everyone was a tad upset. They vowed to make sure the Blacks were safe, by offering them the same wards that were on this cottage and the portkey bracelets, and hoped it was enough.


	10. Plots

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Winter_Weasley, alix33 and darrelldeam for looking this over. All mistakes are my own.  
> Thank you for those that continue to support this tale.

After Hydrus called him, Marius said he’d keep his gun handy, thanked them for the warning and then told them to bugger off.

Arcturus didn’t want those wards added to his property, stating that the ones he had were fine. Most of the elderly Blacks said much the same. Andromeda, however, jumped at the chance to have those wards put up on the Tonks home and business. Narcissa, on the other hand, scoffed and said that the Malfoy wards were superior, but thanked them just the same. They even offered wards to the Weasleys, since they were cousins, and Arthur took them up on it. The orphanage was now under strong intent wards, the kind that would kill if someone wanted to do the kids harm.

The family continued to search for Walburga, but to no avail, she was well hidden. They kept trying to catch her outside the wards, by having Kreacher spy on the area, but she must have set it up so she could Apparate within the house or someone did it for her. Sirius continued to warn them that his mum might be barmy, but she was not to be underestimated.

“Sirius,” Hydrus said, one day while they were doing research, “Why don’t you use your Headship to flush her out? I mean, doesn’t she have to do what you say?” he always wondered about that. Noble and Most Ancient families confused him. Since Sirius never really told him how those families worked he wanted to know. In the last timeline, Padfoot just did his duty and they never really talked about it.

“I suppose I could order a meeting. She’ll have to come or be blasted off the tree,” Sirius answered, rubbing his goatee.

“What exactly does that mean?” the immortal asked.

“Well, when I was blasted off the tree, it meant I didn’t get any more money. But, to me it meant freedom to not have to answer to that shrew, unless Grandfather brought me back in, which he didn’t until Reg died,” he answered with a sad grin that turned into a frown. “I offered Andromeda to be brought back in the family, but she said she was content with her life and didn’t want to have to follow any of the family rules.”

“So now that you are the Head, what can you do?” Remus asked, he had always wondered about that too, since Sirius left the family at sixteen they never talked about them.

“Well, I can demand meetings, give allowances, tell the family what we’ll be doing politically and take people in or out of the family. Mum loves being a Black so much she married her cousin, so if I threaten her to be cast out, she might just come,” the youngest Black felt it was a long shot, but he had to try. His mum was batty after all.

“I thought the Heads of families were more powerful than that,” Hydrus said with a questioning tone.

“No, if they were, Grandfather could’ve prevented all of the ones who became Death Eaters from joining against his word. It was one of the reasons he became a recluse, most of the younger generation wasn’t listening to him,” was Sirius’s answer. “Remember he said he couldn’t tell me who I could hang out with, but could prevent me from giving you any money. Yeah, I have control of the accounts, but I can’t dictate what they do with their lives. If they go against the family, I can kick them out or tell them they can’t live on certain properties, like Grimmauld Place, and cut off their funds, but that’s it.”

“I just thought of something,” Lily said, running a hand through her hair. “Who is her secret keeper?”

Everyone stopped what they were doing and thought. “I didn’t think your mum was strong enough to cast the Fidelius,” James said, putting his reader on his lap.

“Don’t underestimate that mad woman, she is strong enough to cast the Unforgivables,” Sirius warned with bitterness in his voice as if remembering her doing just that—to him.

“Right, who would she have talked to and do you think she’s going to start a war or keep it in the family?” Hydrus said, hoping to take Sirius’s mind off whatever he was remembering. Walburga was a mean and vindictive bitch of a mother and he had no problem believing she’d used those spells on her son.

“I can’t think of anyone in the family that would cast it for her, or anyone who would be her keeper. Most of the family has gathered to me,” the youngest Black said, rubbing his goatee deep in thought. “However, the Blacks are related to most pure-blood families, she might have gotten help from one of the distant cousins.”

“Kreacher,” Hydrus called.

“Master is calling Kreacher?” the old elf said as he popped in.

“Do you know who Walburga was talking to before you changed owners?” the immortal asked kindly.

“Kreacher’s ex-Mistress was talking to many women and a few men, but Kreacher cannot be telling yous their names. He did not see them, only heard their voices. Ex-Mistress told Kreacher he was to remain in the kitchens,” Kreacher said, pulling his ears at the thought that his ex-Mistress didn’t trust him, until Hydrus shot him a look, making him stop his self-punishment. “Kreacher can be telling yous that they is being related to the Blacks or they would not have been let in the house.” If there was one ward that Walburga knew it was that one.

“That’s not very helpful. There are many Black relations and many of them are wives of Death Eaters,” Hydrus all but whinged. “Thanks, Kreacher, you can go back to what you were doing,” he softly ordered and the elf popped away.

“Well, we know most of them won’t help her and we can take heart that she can’t get her hands on Bellatrix,” Sirius added, going over the names of everyone who married a Black, which seemed to be all of Britain. Everyone shuddered at the thought of those two women getting together.

“Right, Sirius, you write your mum and demand a meeting,” James suggested.

“I’ll do that,” the younger Black said, pulling a pen and parchment out of his space and composing a missive.

They waited days for a reply and what they got was a Howler telling Sirius what a disappointment he was and that she would never think of him as her Head. Sirius cut her out of the family, but she must have other funds or an accomplice. He did get another Howler for his actions, telling him that he’d never find her. So they kept searching.

During all of the hunting, the constructions continued and the mall was opened in the middle of November with so many new and inventive stores that the public flocked to the huge building, which was aptly named Marauders’ Mall.

It was two stories high, right now, and seven storefronts wide; there was plenty of room to grow upwards. There were three sides filled with spaces and the entrance, where the food court was. Each wall had seven large shops, making it a nice square shape. A double magical escalator was in the middle of the atrium with the kiosks all around it; selling herbs, crafts and such. Large non-violent magical potted plants and wooden benches were dispersed throughout the center. Animated statues were added and placed between stores, mostly coinciding with what the shop was selling, like the quill shops had a statue of a man writing on a book of parchment. The ceiling was charmed to project a lightly clouded summer’s day without the heat.

The outside of the mall was done in green slate, while the inside was built with drywall and paint. The huge glass windows of the shops were lit with the muted sunshine spell. It would keep the building bright and warm. The signs were the same ones used in the Alley and added a bit of ambiance to the atmosphere.

Many of Diagon Alley’s businesses were more than happy to relocate to a place where shoppers would be out of the freezing weather, rain and snow. The spaces were filled with Madam Malkin’s, Obscurus Books, the used broom shop, two parchment and quill stores and Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, who opened a small annex in the food court, and many more.

New businesses also taking up the spaces. There was a Muggle-born who opened a Wiccan store that sold crystals and star charts, and Frostwell opened an arcade. There were three cafés in the food court; they were trying to find a Muggle-born who would open a fast-food restaurant, but so far no luck.

Hydrus and Lily were the owners of all the same stores the time traveler had opened in the last timeline, which were all on the second floor. They kept them low-tech, for now. The entertainment/video store and the appliance store were doing great business. The other three were not as popular yet, but they were hopeful that the Christmas season would see a rise in sales.

Lily had talked to Molly and convinced her to let Arthur work in the trinket shop. Molly had only conceded because Lily was the Witch Who Vanquished, but that didn’t matter to the others, as long as Mr. Weasley was now enjoying his work.

Mild intent wards were put on the entrance and windows, to prevent thievery, destruction and Animagi if they were in their altered form. Hydrus was thinking it would soon be time for him to get Rita. He had been putting her off as unimportant, but now, with Mrs. Black running around, he’d better take care of her.

There were still vacant spots, but more and more people were inquiring about them. They even got a few that wanted to get out of Knockturn Alley. They were businesses that sold Greyer items and books, and the Potters and the Blacks had no problem with them. No, the problem was they didn’t want to pay the set rent and were trying to haggle it down.

Lily had put Harry in the daycare they had opened on the first floor near the entrance; it was warded with Hydrus’ strongest intent wards. She was running the tea/book shop and loved every minute of it. She made sure to have her emergency bracelet on at all times. Her popularity was a huge factor in the success of the shop, which was named Lily’s Book Corner.

The store itself was simple. A café was in the front with a few cakes and pastries displayed, there were eleven small, white iron tables that sat two in cushion charmed chairs, which were also white iron. The large wooden bookshelves were along the walls and scattered about in the middle. The book-readers were sold or rented by the hour near the cash register and there was the ten minute charm on all unpurchased books. Now that the populace was seeing Lily daily, the fervor of her being their savior died down, somewhat.

Hydrus and the others made sure to buy up the empty buildings in the Alleys as they were going to have to get them rezoned for residential/business use. Mr. Jasper was working on it.

The Times started circulation and was gaining subscribers by the dozens. They opened their office just outside the mall, and their reporters had to take the vow to report only what they knew was true. They were also reporting magical and non-magical news.

The Quibbler still had a small satellite office in the Alley, but the Lovegoods had relocated to France and were doing well in their new country.

The Prophet had tried to keep people from the mall by saying it was going against tradition, but The Times had given it good reviews.

Witch Weekly was running articles on how lovely the mall was and going on and on about the new fashion stores, which brought in many teens.

The pranksters, behind Lily’s back, started gambling with the goblins, using the information Hydrus had brought from both timelines.

James, Sirius and Hydrus were now starting their political careers. The first thing they did was not support Crouch Sr. in his bid for Minister, citing the man’s son was a Death Eater, which Barty promptly denied stating they had no proof, which was true, but they stood firm in their stance.

They were backing a Half-blood, who was making his stand for the title. His name was, Mathew Smeller. He wanted equal rights for every magical creature. The Potters and the Blacks supported his platform. There was some grumbling in the Black family, since Crouch was family, but for the most part they backed Sirius.

Hydrus was a bit confused as to why Bagnold was stepping down; she hadn’t in the last two timelines. Maybe it was because people knew that Voldemort wasn’t completely gone and she said he was. Now that The Times was backing that rumor with articles and pictures, the public wasn’t as easily swayed. The reporters were using Lily’s victory over Tom Riddle to get the people to start protecting themselves with any spell that would cause damage. Weekly articles were run on self-defense and the paper was flying off the stands.

The two rich Marauders and Hydrus used their ‘gift’ vault to stop many biased laws from being passed. They were making quite a name for themselves and the politicians were starting to call them ‘The Shark Trio’, which made the men chuckle.

Lily had drawn up a bill that all voted in offices, including the Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump, served a term of four years, with a person only allowed to be reelected twice. The Wizengamot was still debating it.

Dumbledore approached Hydrus three times in the Ministry to try and get him to reveal the secret. He left impressed with the young man’s fortitude and disappointed he didn’t succeed. He had had Alastor on the case, but the ex-Auror came back empty-handed on locating the Potters. He knew they were in Godric’s Hollow, but could not find the house. Albus was not giving up yet, he was still so very sure that the prophecy was about young Harry and he would do everything he could to see the boy safe.

**Hphphp**

Everything was running smoothly, until one day, mid-December, Sirius came to the Potters for breakfast. He eyes were emotional and his face was grim. He sat despondently in his chair and in a hollow voice said, “Grandfather is dead.”

Hydrus dropped his fork and stuttered out, “W…What? That’s not right, he has ten years left.” An overwhelming sense of guilt assaulted him. Arcturus was right; it was due to his coming back that the man was now dead, he was sure of it. He was confused with the guilty emotion; he thought for sure that he had left feelings like that behind. He would have to go and see his therapist.

“Do they know how?” Lily asked, putting her hand on the guilt-ridden man’s arm.

“They said it was the Killing Curse. They thought it was me, but I have an ironclad alibi. I told them it was probably Mum,” Sirius said, his shoulders sagging. He had gotten to like the old man during their numerous talks about the family. He vowed to get his mother before she killed anyone else. He glanced at Hydrus and saw the remorseful face and was in a bit of turmoil. On one hand, Grandfather was right, on the other hand, Hydrus was only trying to keep his parents alive. His thoughts circulated and he settled on not blaming the time traveler. Grandfather knew his mum was after the Blacks, he should have taken them up on the wards.

Remus was going through similar thoughts; it was only his belief that Hydrus wasn’t Dark that kept him from saying ‘I told you so’ that and he could see the time traveler was feeling guilty.

Hydrus suddenly stood. “I have to go,” he said, looking at the worried female. “I’ll be back soon.” He turned to Sirius. “I’m very sorry. I know this is somehow my doing. I’ll do my best to find her.” He gave a subtle wink, making Sirius raise an eyebrow then realizing what the immortal meant, he gave a weak smile. Then Hydrus left.

Lily watched the byplay and had an idea what it was about. She only hoped it worked, they didn’t need another Dark Lord... well, Lady and they still didn’t know if she was just going to target family or take it to the populace. “Sirius, are you going to be okay?” she asked, now putting her hand on his arm.

“Yeah, me and Grandfather weren’t close. It just shocked me and all,” Sirius said, giving her a small smile. “I honestly didn’t think she’d start killing family. I mean, I know she vowed revenge, but I was thinking more along the lines of maiming, stealing or destroying by reputation. After all, she ranted and raved all my life how important family was. So for her to do this comes as a bit of a shock.” He ran his hand through his hair. “That woman is batshit crazy.”

“You had better watch your back better,” warned Remus. “If she murdered your grandfather, then she will have no problem coming after you. You have not been wary enough, what with being at the Ministry and the mall all the time. Is your flat even under the Fidelius?”

“No, I’ll get that set up today. Will you be my secret keeper?” Sirius asked, his eyes pleading.

“Of course, we will do it after dinner,” Remus answered, putting a hand on his friends shoulder.

“Right, Sirius, sorry for your loss,” James said sincerely with sad eyes. “You can stay here under the wards, and do whatever, but we have to go to work,” he said, standing and giving his best mate a one armed hug, hoping Sirius didn’t think he was being callus.

“Thanks, James, but I’ll go home, Mum doesn’t know where I live. Plus, Hydrus set up my flat with all the goodies. I think I’ll take a day and relax, but I’ll be ready to take on those old goats tomorrow.” Sirius returned the hug and patting James on the shoulder, telling him he understood.

“Right,” James said as he picked up a syrup covered Harry and took him to get ready for the day. The rest went about their own preparations and soon the Potter house was empty.

**Hphphp**

Meanwhile, Hydrus went home and called the spirit of Arcturus. The ghost appeared and glared at the Master of Death.

“I told you that you were condemning us,” the intact apparition snapped, pointing an accusing finger at the man. He was wearing fine robes, so he must have been awake when he was killed. Walburga must have taken him by surprise.

“What happened?” the immortal asked. “How did she get you? You are a powerful wizard, far more powerful than her.” He didn’t understand why this man let his guard down.

“I was napping when the wards went off, but they didn’t give a warning, so I was not worried. I was waiting for one of the cousins. I thought it had to be him, since I keyed him to the wards for the appointment. She came in and immediately cast the Killing Curse. I didn’t even have time to raise my wand. After my demise, she ranted how it was entirely my fault for ruining the Black name, by giving Sirius the Headship,” Arcturus recanted in monotone.

“Wait, who was the cousin?” Hydrus asked, thinking perhaps it was that man that let the bitch in.

“It was Yaxley, he wanted to discuss if he could come back into the family now that the Dark Lord is gone,” the spirit told him.

“Hmmm, do you think that he let her in?” the Master of Death asked, going over what he knew about Yaxley. He knew the man was a Death Eater, but little else.

“I do not know, there was a shadow of a person, but they remained unseen,” Arcturus stated.

“Right, go on,” the immortal said with a wave of his hand. “Why didn’t you fight or at least be on guard?”

“I did not think I had to. I thought my wards strong enough. I should have known better. I knew that Walburga was after me, but I let myself believe that she would not be able to enter my house. I do not know how she did or if she had help. I did not have time to investigate, before I was brought before Death, who, by the way, is upset with you.” His glare increased at the thought that he was dead ten years before his time.

“I am so very sorry. You cannot know the guilt I feel for your loss of life,” Hydrus said, running a hand down his face. “I do ask that you try and prevent any other Blacks from being murdered by your daughter-in-law. Find her and haunt her, do whatever it takes so this doesn’t happen again.”

“She is well hidden, but I will endeavor to do so,” Arcturus said with a small bow and he left, not wanting to talk to this man anymore. Master of Death he may be, but the dead Black still felt the immortal was to blame for his premature death.

Hydrus ran a hand down his face and went to work off some of the tension with some Aikido and then meditation. He practiced for an hour and then fell into a light trance. All of this lessened his guilt. He now understood, just how messed up things could be, if he didn’t get them back on track. He would need to use all his resources to get her, but he wasn’t above breaking the law to stop a war.

That night he went to the Potters and relayed that he had gotten news that Walburga was working with someone. They all sighed and got back to researching. Lily and Sirius were brainstorming on who it might be while the rest of the men were trying to research Dark counter spells.

Sirius and Remus left to put up the charm and make sure Sirius’s flat was completely warded.

**Hphphp**

A few days later, Lily went to her meeting with the Flamels. She met them at a small tea shop in London and they sat at one of the inside tables. The French couple looked to be about forty years old. Nicolas was dapper and Perenelle was regal. Lily was shocked; the two looked similar. They both had blond hair and blue eyes, though the man’s hair was a dusty blond, while the female’s was light blonde. Their eyes were almost silver with the lightness of blue. She wondered if it was the stone that made them that way.

“I can’t tell you how honored I am to meet you. Thank you so much for agreeing to see me on the basis of such a vague note,” Lily gushed, after introductions were made.

“You said you knew an immortal that needed female companionship. It intrigued us,” Nicolas said with a slight French accent, but his English was very good. His wife Perenelle sat to his side, nodding her head in agreement. There was a hint of hopefulness in their blue eyes.

“Yes, though like I stated, I can’t tell you who he is,” Lily said with a bit of remorse. “However, I can tell you that he did love a mortal and she was lost to him and it hit him hard.” She toyed with her napkin, a bit flustered about meeting such important people. It gave her some insight on how people felt when they met her and that made her thoughtful.

“We know of a few other immortals that have suffered the same plight. It is only because of the stone that I have my lovely wife.” Nicolas looked fondly at Perenelle and she smiled back. They took each other’s hands and leaned in for a chaste kiss.

Lily was happy to see love that withstood the hands of time; it gave her hope for Hydrus. “You said you had a secret you might share with me,” the redhead said, regaining their attention and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“We insist on a vow zat zis will not be repeated. It truly is not a secret we share with anyone, but we feel zat it might solve one of our concerns,” Perenelle said in a wistful voice with a more of an accent.

“Not a problem,” Lily said and recited a vow not to reveal anything she learned from the Flamels.

Nicolas looked at his wife, she looked at him and they had a silent conversation. Perenelle sighed and nodded; she turned her gaze to Lily and said, “We have a daughter and a son. Zey were born immortal and have no need of the Elixir of Life.”

“Wow! Really!?” Lily shouted in excitement and then she blushed and lowered her voice. “Sorry. Why have we never heard of them?” she asked with a tilt of her head. This was intriguing news.

“We found out our son was immortal when he died as an infant. He regained his life within a minute. We had to wipe the memories of many people to forget him and then we went into hiding and no one ever knew of his existence. When I taught Albus, my lovely wife made sure that our son remained unseen,” the male immortal said, his eyes got a sad look to them as he retold the small tale.

“I am so sorry to hear that,” the redhead said.

“Yes, it was a lonely life for him; he could have no friends and was taught at home. We did everything we could to make it better, but we did not want him to be used by the government. So we hid him. Barring his lonely childhood, he grew up well and is now a successful businessman.” Now that voice was laced with pride.

“We have found him a vampire wife and he now knows all the tricks to keep the fact that he is immortal secret. We have yet to find a mate for our daughter,” Perenelle took up the tale, though her voice was sad. “When we found I was pregnant again, we were so hopeful that she would not be immortal, but alas, it was not to be so.” There were tears brimming her eyes over the plight of her children.

“We now prevent ourselves from having any more children. They both have led very hard lives,” Nicolas added, patting his wife’s hand.

“I am so very sorry that such a joyful thing like having children has caused you heartache,” Lily said sincerely. “I can never understand how hard it must be for them,” she added, her thoughts now racing to how Hydrus must feel. “I don’t understand something though; you’re immortal because of the stone, why do you pity your children?”

“We can die, all we have to do is stop taking the Elixir and zen we will go to sleep and never wake or we can be murdered. Zey, however, will live forever,” Perenelle answered, letting the tears fall.

“Will their children be immortal?”

“They do not know, for they fear to try,” Nicolas said with a casual shrug, though it was something that plagued his mind and that of his wife. It was up to the children to find out the answer.

“We also know a few vampires that are looking to mate,” Perenelle said, changing the subject. “We would like to try our daughter first, of course, but zere are other options. Here is what we will do…”

And the trio set about trying to get the younger immortals to meet on the sly, without having to give up any secrets.

**Hphphp**

While Lily was planning his wedding, Hydrus was hunting bugs. He popped to the non-magical neighborhood that Rita was in the last time. He went to her flat and knocked on the door. He waited for an answer, but none came. So he zapped the wards and entered the flat.

It looked just like it had before and he cast revealing spells for both insects and humans. The insect spell located five bugs, so he went about stunning them. He was just getting to the third bug, when it scurried out the window. He noted it just in time to realize it was Rita. He ran to the window and continued to try and stun her or add a tracking charm, but she got away.

“Dammit!” he yelled as he slammed his fist on the sill and then ran a hand down his face. He looked around and started gathering up all the papers. It took him an hour to get everything; he’d go through it all tonight. There might be information in them that he didn’t know. After all, Rita knew about Pandora before they did, she might know what Walburga was plotting.

**Hphphp**

That night, at the Potters, everyone was enjoying a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs that Hydrus cooked. Lily was sporting a smile that made Sirius, Remus and Hydrus wary. Sirius and Remus had seen that smile before and they knew what it meant. Hydrus picked up on their skittish looks and suddenly felt for his own well being. “So, Lily, are you going to tell us what’s got you so chipper?” the immortal asked, giving her a suspicious look.

“Oh, nothing,” she answered airily, waving her hand in the air and cutting up some of the meatballs for Harry, who was making quite a mess.

“Now, Lily, sweetheart, we’ve seen that look before. Who’s the unl… I mean, the lucky bachelor?” James said with a knowing smile. He grinned at the single men, who continued to shoot the only woman leery looks.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lily said, though that smile didn’t leave her face.

The mentioned bachelors groaned. “Please, don’t tell me you’re going to set me up on a date,” the horrified Sirius asked, remembering the last disaster Lily had set up.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” the redhead repeated, though now her smile turned to a frown as she considered her husband’s best friends. Maybe she should look into getting all of these men married off. She’d have to talk to Hydrus about who they married last time. With that thought the grin returned.

Sirius groaned again and shot looks at the other single men at the table. They all grimaced at the thought of a blind date. Hydrus, more so, since he was still getting over the loss of Grace. He really hoped Lily wasn’t trying to set him up, not yet anyway.

“Well, Sirius, what can you tell us about the Blacks? Are they taking you up on the offer of the wards now?” James said, changing the subject and getting many thankful looks for it.

“Yeah, now that Grandfather has died, they’re scared,” the dogman stated, still a bit sad over his loss.

The funeral had been huge. Everyone that was related to the Black family had been there, the Crouches, the Flints, the Yaxleys and the Rosiers and just about anyone who had not been disowned and even a few that were, like the senior Weasleys, the Prewett twins and the Tonks. Narcissa even showed, though she kept glaring at Andromeda.

It had snowed, but the ceremony was held indoors, since Grandfather was cremated, as per his request. His ashes now sat in his former home, which two of the older cousins claimed. Sirius had been hoping his mum would sneak in, but if she did she hid herself well.

Lily patted his hand and said, “That is good news. Now they can be protected, at least in their homes. Are they going to wear the portkey bracelets?”

“Yeah, they all have one,” he answered, having given them out after the ceremony.

“We should sell those bracelets,” Lily suggested, thinking of the safety they would offer.

“We can’t, they’re slightly illegal. Until the Wizengamot passes a law that says people can make their own portkeys, they can only be used within the Black family, since they were made by a Black. Those old men will never deny pure-bloods the right to safety,” Sirius said bitterly, though they were making great headway into overturning many of the biased laws, there were still something’s they hadn’t been able to touch, like the rights of pure-bloods.

“Oh,” was the only answer.

They dropped the heavy conversation and concentrated on dinner. Hydrus volunteered to put the sauce covered Harry to bed.

“Are we any closer to finding out who your mum has working with her? My source hasn’t found anything, so I’m at a standstill, though he did say that it might be Yaxley,” Hydrus said as he flopped into his chair ten minutes later. Arcturus had been trying to find his daughter-in-law, but whoever she was working with was good. The Charm was top rate and he never saw any other magical in the neighborhood.

“Yaxley huh, I’ll keep an eye on him. Anyway, I called a family meeting after the funeral and warned all of the people who were there that my mum has gone crazy and swore revenge. None of them seemed to know where she was or what she was doing. I questioned Narcissa and she swore that she wasn’t working with Mum,” Sirius answered, running a hand through his hair. It had been a hard meeting, with many of the family protesting about one of their own having turned on them.

“Judging from the brown-nosing she did in the last timeline, I didn’t even think of her,” the immortal confessed, which is plain stupid of him. He should doubt everyone.

“Who is your source?” Remus asked.

“Sorry, I can’t tell you,” Hydrus answered, holding up his hand to stop the protest. “It’s one secret I can’t share; I can tell you that this… person has my trust. When I can tell you, I will,” he promised.

Sirius, James and Lily shared a look, which Remus didn’t see; he was too busy glaring at Hydrus. “I would think in times like this, secrets could be harmful. Were you not the one who stated that Albus was wrong in keeping things from the Order?” he accused with a pointing finger.

“You’re right, but unlike Albus’s secret, it has little to do with Walburga, well, in so much as she doesn’t know about it. I promise you that it doesn’t affect you or anyone in this house,” Hydrus tried to explain. “Look, Remus, you had such a hard time accepting my time travel, are you sure you want to know all my secrets?”

That gave the werewolf pause, he ran through many thoughts. He had just settled his feelings about Hydrus and there was peace in this group. Did he really want to upset the balance? “Maybe you are right, but if this secret in any way affects me in the future I want to know about it,” he said after a minute with the thought that he might just figure it out on his own.

“You have my word.”


	11. A Minor Setback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Winter_Weasley, alix33 and darrelldeam for looking this over. All mistakes are my own.

Diagon Alley appeared a little deserted now, until you glanced down the cobblestone street and saw the huge white building of Gringotts, then further down you saw the bustling of people at the lit up Marauders’ Mall. Wizards and witches were walking in and out of the large, green building with brightly colored packages, chattering cheerfully. The three mall owners were working with the Ministry to get an Apparation point and a Floo inside the building, but the licensing for those were holding them up, so folks still had to walk down the Alley to go home.

The lights from the indoor shopping center glowed brightly and illuminated the snow covered street with a soft glow. Hydrus still hadn’t figured out how to dim them yet. There were still shops open in the Alley like Ollivander’s, Flourish and Blotts and Twilfitt and Tats. They had had their shops in the same location for decades, or longer, and had no desire to move.

Christmas trees lined the Alley with old-fashioned ornaments and real fairies that fluttered and glowed as they flit around the trees. They made the street less depressing. There were also boughs of fir and holly strung on the buildings. Christmas cheer was in full force.

The mall was also festive, with fairies and trees. Wreaths and garland were placed on doors and walls. Holiday music, magical and non, was piped into the building, making almost everyone joyful. There was even a booth for Father Christmas, where kids could tell their holiday wishes. This St. Nick was dressed in fine wizard robes of dark green and reds. He had a long, flowing white beard, matching hair and a twinkle in his eyes. Many commented on how he looked like Dumbledore, only younger and no half-moon spectacles. He handed out small gifts of Chocolate Frogs, books and toys. All of the children had a great time with this new concept. Parents were thankful that they now knew what to buy and make Santa’s presents.

A few of the spaces in the new shopping center had been filled with stores from Knockturn Alley. They had finally learned what a set price was and were desperate enough to relocate out of the Dark alley to pay it. They were doing well. So now there were only a few empty storefronts left.

There was a closed off section on the first floor of the mall towards the back which no one could see into. This was a mystery to the shoppers and they were all excited to see what it would be when it was done, given that there were so many interesting stores already.

The three rich men were buying up the empty buildings in both Alleys and getting them rezoned for commercial/residential. Mr. Jasper was still working on it and so far making progress. The thought was to add flats, inns, movie and play houses, skating rinks, bowling alleys and pubs. They were intent on adding as much entertainment to Diagon Alley as possible with some decent housing for small wizarding families. And have low cost housing in Knockturn Alley for those with creature blood, where they’d be welcome. Hopefully the streets would become populated and more people would stay in the magical world.

Hydrus had already started Black Entertainments. The people he had hired were in training right now, learning from the non-magicals how to make and direct movies and how to become actors and actresses. The last timeline it took several months, so he was thinking they would get it together by March, since he started them a month ago.

Right now, he was in Fun For All Trinkets talking to Mr. Weasley. “Well, Arthur, how do you like working here?” he asked as they stood at the counter, taking a small break from their tinkering and watched the busy shoppers.

“Merlin, it’s everything I hoped for,” the redheaded man gushed. “I can do so many inventions, and you’ve made my dream come true. With Molly just having our little girl this August, money was tight, but now we can have a wonderful Christmas.” He had never understood why his wife was so set on making him stay in a dead end job, but now he was making loads of money and the Burrow was getting some desperately needed repairs. Many of the Christmas presents this year would be new clothes and the new toys that were on the market. He really hoped his kids liked the educational ones he bought at Fun For All Toys.

“That’s great,” the immortal said, clapping him on the back. “You make a fine addition to the store, some of the things you’ve come up with I never would’ve thought of. I, for one, am really glad we hired you on.”

They were already selling the clock that Mrs. Weasley used and it was flying off the shelves. Hydrus never knew that it had been Arthur that invented it. The immortal was happy that the Weasleys were finally getting something good in life. While he had given them money in the last timeline, Arthur had never succeeded in his job at the Ministry and had always begged Molly to let him work in one of the Fun For All stores.

“Yes, you’ll thank Mrs. Potter for me, won’t you?” Arthur asked, still amazed that she had gotten his wife to agree.

“Of course,” Hydrus said and then turned back to the swirly thingy they were trying to charm to make noise when someone came near it. It was like a mild Sneakoscope for when your kids got too close to things they shouldn’t be touching, like the fireplace, the stove or Mum’s wand. Something the Weasleys could use for the twins.

They were just getting the last rune on the swirly thingy when the bell over the door rang. Both men looked up and Hydrus held back a groan, while Arthur called out a hearty, “Hello, Headmaster, welcome to our store. Is there anything I can help you find?”

Hydrus stayed stoic and nodded his head to the aged man.

“Ah, Arthur, I am so happy to see you. How is your new form of employment?” Albus said as he wandered over to the two men. His yellow and green robes blended in well with the mish-mash store.

“Brilliant,” the redhead beamed.

“It does my heart good to see you so happy. I was very concerned when you gave up your post at the Ministry. Are you making enough income at this quaint shop to support your family?” the old man asked, looking over his glasses.

“I make more here than I did there,” Arthur said a bit bewildered. The Headmaster had never paid much attention to him before, so he had to wonder why now. He knew about the Order from his brothers-in-law, but he didn’t join since his children were so young.

“Marvelous,” Albus said merrily. “Hello, Hydrus, my boy, may I ask how you are doing this fine day?” he asked, turning those inquisitive eyes to the other man.

“Headmaster,” the immortal nodded his head, “I’m well.”

“I must say, this… mall?” he wait for the confirmation, “is doing wonderful business. To think, doing one’s shopping out of the snow, I would have never envisioned such. Wherever did you get the concept?”

“Non-magical England has quite a few of them,” Hydrus deadpanned, knowing that the old goat was just biding his time to try and get the Potters’ location. It was a dance they had done before.

Just to prove him right the Headmaster’s next statement was, “I have a gift for young Harry. Could you give me their address so I may give it to him?”

The immortal chuckled, “Albus, that has to be your lamest try yet.”

“Alas, I am running out of reasons that you have not heard already,” the Headmaster’s eyes twinkled.

“If you really have something for Harry, Lily is in her shop and will be more than happy to take it to him,” Hydrus informed him, though he knew that the old man knew that.

“Of course, my boy, how silly of me to forget,” the old man’s eyes shone with mirth.

Arthur watched the byplay more confused than ever. His boss was almost rude to one of the greatest wizards of their time, but Dumbledore seemed to think it was funny.

Just then the wards went off and an alarm was heard throughout the building, telling people to head to the nearest store until security said it was all clear. Screams and yelling could be heard as women herded their children into the stores and men ran to the entrance.

Hydrus stopped smiling. “I have to go,” he said, running from the store, the Headmaster hot on his heels, who knew the old man could run?

They got to the entrance where there was a crowd forming, mostly men with their wands drawn, with a few determined women mingled among them. Lily’s taking down the Dark Lord had made them want to stick up for themselves. Witch Weekly calling her a role model went a long way in firming their resolve. There were also security guards all pointing their wands to the middle of the group or trying to get the shoppers to stand back.

There, in the center of the throng, was a stunned bug. It looked like the wards tried to rope her, but she was too small, so there was merely a pile of cable surrounding the insect, which is probably why she wasn’t stepped on.

“It’s okay everyone. It’s just an Animagus,” Hydrus called to the confused customers as he waved his holly wand to stop the alarm, so it now saying that everything was well in hand. “Please, go back to your shopping and I’ll take care of this.”

The crowd dispersed, excitedly chattering and Hydrus conjured a jar and scooped up the bug. He tucked the jar into his pocket and turned to the slightly out of breath Albus.

“Do you require help, my boy,” the wheezing man asked as he put his hands on his knees.

“No, I know this woman and I’m going to question her as to why she felt the need to come here in her alternate form.” He dismissed the guards with a nod and a ‘good job’. They left and resumed their patrols.

“May I ask why you have such wards on your shopping center?” the old man asked, standing straight and stroking his beard. “Though, I must say, they are ingenious.”

“There’s no reason for an Animagus to come here in their other form unless they are up to no good,” the mall owner said, though it was for this very reason they had been erected in the first place.

“She may have been trying to get out of the weather,” was the gentle rebuttal.

“There are umbrellas for that,” was the reply.

“Do you mind if I sit in on the questioning?” Dumbledore asked with determination in his blue eyes.

“I’ve got this. It’s mall business. Like I said, I know who it is and she’s not a criminal. I’ll ask a few questions and then decided what to do. I’m going to have to turn you down.” Hydrus waved him away, his face set sternly.

“Very well, I hope nothing unfortunate happens to the young lady,” Albus said austerely, looking over his glasses.

“If she is innocent then I’ll let her go,” Hydrus said just as firmly. “If not I’ll hand her to the Aurors. You already have my vow that I don’t harm innocents.” He sent a glare to the old man. He knew that he couldn’t keep her in his button collection or there would be questions about his morals. He was going to have to think of something to do with her, later.

“Then I will bid you good day,” the Headmaster reluctantly replied and he made his way to Lily’s Book Corner to give her Harry’s present, which he actually had.

Hydrus sighed, took the jar out, turned Rita into a button and threw her over his shoulder. Now all he had to do was figure out what to do with her, but it was one less vengeful woman running about.

The rest of the day was uneventful; Hydrus went back to Fun For All Trinkets and worked with Arthur. They got the swirly thingy to work and called it the Kiddie Alarm. It would go on sale in the next week. The immortal then made his rounds to all of his other stores to make sure they were running smoothly, well, as smoothly as the Christmas rush would allow. They were. He had hired many of the same people he had in the last timeline, since he knew they were good people and hard workers.

**Hphphp**

That night at the Potters, after a nice simple dinner of fish and chips, which was take away, the very tired workers all sat in the living room. Lily, James and Remus were on the sofa, Hydrus and Sirius claimed the chairs and Harry was in bed.

“Oh, Merlin, my feet hurt,” Lily whinged, putting her stocking feet on her husband’s lap. “Please,” she begged with doleful eyes.

“Of course, sweetheart,” he smiled and started rubbing her left foot. She moaned in pleasure, making the other men laugh.

Hydrus chuckled and asked, “Did you work hard? Why don’t you hire help?”

“I have a two girls coming, who were recommended to me by some people I know,” she said with a smirk. “They will start in a few days. Until then, my poor feet will simply have to suffer.”

Business was going well; she was pulling in some really good money. The café was cozy enough for the weary shoppers. And with the book-readers to relax with, the customers loved it. Hydrus was telling her about a coffee thingy called an espresso machine, which he was working on to get in her café. It would be the only one in the mall and she couldn’t wait.

“Oh, do I know these people?” James asked in concern, a frown creased his forehead. He didn’t know that Lily knew anyone he didn’t.

“No, I don’t think you do,” Lily answered, tapping her finger to her chin, a small smile played on her lips.

“How do you know they can be trusted?” her husband inquired as he put down her left foot and took up the right.

“Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course I do. I’m just worried they might be using you for your fame,” he said, still apprehensive.

The letters and gifts had tapered off, now that she was working, but there were still many who wrote wanting to use her name to further their products. She sent those to Mr. Jasper, who Hydrus recommended for her business, to see if they would be good investments.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart, I can tell you for sure they don’t want anything to do with my fame. I’ll tell you all about it later,” she promised, making the other three men frown. “Any news on Mrs. Black?” she asked, desperate to change the subject.

The men let it go and Sirius answered, “No, Mum is keeping a low profile, but we’re still working on it. I’ve stopped all her funding, but she might be working with someone. I looked into Yaxley, but he has an alibi for when Grandfather was killed. So we still don’t know who. However, I’ve been interviewing all of the… widows that married, or were, Blacks. All of them seem innocent.”

It had taken up much of his time, but the teas were well worth it. He now had many of the wives of the Death Eaters backing his political stance. Not all of them, there were some diehard pureblood bigots in that group, but most wanted to get the allowance he offered if they conformed.

“Are you sure it’s not Yaxley? Because, I’m sure it’s a man,” Hydrus said, thinking hard, “since Gringotts has all the widows’ money tied up, it’s more than likely one of the male cousins, probably one that wasn’t a Death Eater or at least never caught.” He grimaced, thinking over who it could be, knowing he had a lot Tom’s minion in his garden or on a shelf.

“Well, he does have an alibi, so I can’t accuse him of anything,” Sirius said, rubbing his goatee. “According to Crouch, Yaxley was with him all night going over political campaigns. So, that leaves him out.”

“Are you ever going to tell us what you did with the Death Eaters?” Remus asked Hydrus quietly, running a hand through his hair.

“No, I will tell you they aren’t dead, but that is all I’m going to say.”

“What are you going to do with them?” the werewolf asked, not sure what to make of that statement.

“Keep them where they are. Look, if I thought it would help in our current situation then I’d tell you in a heartbeat, but they’re not harming anyone where they are, so just leave it.” He always had to defend his actions with Remus, even in all the other timelines.

This was one thing they never saw eye to eye on. He sometimes didn’t understand why they kept the werewolf in the know. While he had been very helpful in the last timeline; he was nothing but a sore spot in this one. He looked at James and Sirius and understood that they would never give up their friend. Well, he’d just have to do his best to keep more of his secrets to himself, he was really thankful that the man didn’t know he was the Master of Death.

“Fine,” was the succinct reply complete with a folding of arms.

“What about Severus?” Lily asked, her eyes watering a bit at the thought of her former friend neutralized. 

“Shite, I completely forgot about him,” Hydrus said, smacking his forehead.

“Oh, so you have plans for him?” the redhead said with hope in her voice. “And watch your language, just because Harry’s asleep, is no reason to get lax.”

“Sorry. Yeah, hopefully he’ll never darken our doorsteps again.”

“Why can’t you do whatever you’re going to do with Snivellus to the other Death Eaters?” Sirius wanted to know, trying to ease the tension between the immortal and the werewolf.

“Because, whatever you guys think of the man, he did try to do the right thing in the end. He deserves a chance; however, I might give some of the lesser Death Eaters an opportunity to redeem. I’ll just need to question them under Veritaserum.” He shrugged his shoulders and turned to Remus, “Will that help ease your conscience?”

“Yes, a lot,” the werewolf answered, thankful that Hydrus was listening to his worries. He really didn’t like to fight with the man. It made the house tense.

“I’ll do that then, but know this; those like Bellatrix and Lucius are not getting the same treatment,” the time traveler warned with a grim look.

“There is nothing I can say to change your mind, so I will let it go,” the werewolf conceded.

“Fine,” the immortal said, glad for the compromise. “Now back to Mrs. Black, I think it is someone we’ve slighted, though I really can’t think of anyone that is still in the country and that Walburga would work with. Kreacher said they were part of the Black family, but that doesn’t narrow it down, since everyone in this damn country is part of that inbred family.”

“Oi, watch what you say,” Sirius snapped, even though he knew it was true.

“Right, sorry. I’m just miffed that we can’t think of anyone. I mean, I’ve seen the family tree and even the Potters and the Weasleys are related,” he huffed at the problem of narrowing such a large family down.

“Well that’s two families you can rule out,” Lily said, still taking pleasure in her foot massage.

“Right, only hundreds more to go,” Hydrus sighed. “I almost wish for a prophecy.”

“Oh Merlin, don’t say that,” James groaned. Albus still accosted him whenever they met in the Ministry, trying to get him to see things his way. No matter what James said, the Headmaster was convinced the prophecy was about Harry. Hydrus had taken the Potters to the side and told them that the wraith was fading and that when it did the orb would turn black and hopefully Dumbledore would back off.

“Right, sorry.” He seemed to be putting his foot in his mouth this evening.

“What are you going to do with Skeeter?” Sirius asked, having heard about the Animagus from Lily.

“Probably the same thing I did in the last timeline,” was the casual answer. “Or I might just bribe her to lay off us and let her go. I’m not sure yet.”

“Right, hopefully one of those will work,” the younger Black said. If they got that reporter on their side, it would be a good thing. Hydrus said she was a vicious person who would tear anyone apart with her words.

“So, how is the politics coming along?” Lily asked James, who went back to her left foot, making her smile lovingly at him. He was such a caring husband.

“Well, Crouch is still cranky that we won’t back him, but he is getting some support from the purebloods. Yaxley is one of them. I just thank Merlin that that Umbridge woman disappeared.” He shuddered at the thought of having to work with harridan.

That caused Remus to cut a glance to Hydrus, who adopted an innocent face.

“Who do you think has a chance at winning?” she asked, hoping it was Smeller.

“Well, Smeller has the support of the Muggle-born and many of the Half-bloods, so he has a good chance of succeeding,” James answered, putting her feet down on his lap with a pat.

“Thank you, sweetheart, that’s much better.” She swung her feet to the floor and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

“Well, I’ve got to go, it’s getting late and I want to do some things before I retire,” Hydrus said, getting out of his chair and heading for the door.

“Yeah, I’ve got to go too,” Sirius said, also getting up and heading out. Remus joined them, and James frowned at the werewolf’s back. He was going to have to talk to his friend and find out what his problem was. And the two adult Potters were left alone.

“Are you going to tell me who you’ve been talking to that I don’t know?” James asked, turning to his wife.

“Well, I can tell you that I talked to the Flamels, but I can’t tell you what we talked about. Sorry, sweetheart, but I took a vow. What I can say is that I’m doing a bit of matchmaking with their help,” she hedged.

“You’re going to try and set Hydrus up with a vampire?” he gasped, not sure how he felt about that. While they weren’t bad people, they still had to have blood to live and that made him queasy.

“Maybe or there might be more immortals than we know about,” she said evasively.

Now, James is not a stupid person, so he figured out right quick what she was not saying. He nodded his head, not voicing his reasoning, not wanting her to break her vow. Though, his eyes got wide at the realization that the Flamels had children.

She sighed and then grinned, “I think this is a good night to try and get that little girl I’ve always dreamed of.”

James smiled wickedly, stood up, pulled his wife into a huge hug and said, “I’ll buy that.”

And the two went to bed to see if Lily’s prediction would come true.

**Hphphp**

Hydrus went home and pondered on what to do with the bug bitch. He knew he couldn’t keep her, but he really didn’t want to bribe her, it could come back to bite him in the arse. He could drop her on a reporter’s desk at The Times with all the things her spying had come up with. Or he could pay her to be a spy for him. That was something he never thought of and with Walburga running around, it might just work. However, Rita was a malicious bitch and would play for the highest bidder. He couldn’t trust her.

He gave up his thoughts as a bad job and then started thinking about what to do with Snape. His plan was to drop him in France, or somewhere, and leave him, but this time there would be no vow that he’d never return. He was hoping that the man was desperate enough to just run and stay hidden. He meditated on it for a while and came to the decision to do just that. So the immortal brought out the rock that was Snape, returned him to human, kept him stunned, added the disguise watch to his wrist, tucked a Mokeskin bag in his robes, made a portkey to France and activated it.

Snape would wake up with a new face, no Dark Mark, some money and hopefully a new outlook on life.

Hydrus then spent a few hours questioning the lesser Death Eaters about giving them the chance to change. His queries were along the lines of ‘Did you kill anyone?’ ‘Do you want to reform?’ ‘Why did you serve the Dork Lord?’ If they hadn’t killed anyone or were forced to join, he released them.

He got half of them to take vows to keep neutral and they got to go home to their families, most weren’t marked as they had been lesser minions and for those that were, he simply removed the mark. He had used a disguise watch to change his looks and created portkeys for them, so they never saw the outside of the house.

The rest he transfigured back into rocks and decorated his garden. He had the fleeting thought of turning them into statues, but put it away for later. He was too tired tonight to do anything else, so he went to bed.

**Hphphp**

A day later, The Times and The Daily Prophet both had headlines about the return of many purebloods.

**Missing Heads of Families Have Returned**

The Times reported that it was a miracle that they appeared, but wondered where the men had been, since they had no recollection on what had happened to them the last few months. They would only say that they were busy one minute, woke up a good time later and an unknown man sent them home. There was a separate article that wondered who the man was and where the rest of the Heads were.

The Prophet said that they were not good enough for the new Dark Lord and were sent home in shame. They commented that all of these men were once reported to be Death Eaters, though none of them bore the Dark Mark. They listed all known Death Eaters, and Crouch was vehemently denying that his son was working for a Dark Lord and was still offering a reward for his safe return.

“Thank you,” Remus said to Hydrus as they all sat in the living room.

“You were right, some of them redeemed. It’s no big deal,” the immortal shrugged it off, hoping none of this came back to haunt them.

“Still, you did the correct thing,” the werewolf persisted.

“Right, so what are we doing today?” Hydrus asked, not wanting to argue.

“I’ve to go to the store,” Lily answered, from her position on the floor with Harry. “We’re having a sale.”

The mum and son were playing with the giggling bunny and she was impressed with how well her baby was learning from it. So far he had gotten legs, arms and head correct, in baby talk. She was attempting to get him to say heart, but all she got was ‘ert’. Still it was progress.

James glared at the toy. He still hated that damn giggle, but it was one of Harry’s favorites. The tot slept with it and it still woke James up whenever his son rolled over.

“I have to go to my store too,” Remus said. “We have a new magical mystery novel on sale today, so it is going to be busy.”

“Well, I’ve got nothing to do today,” Sirius complained. Since it was Saturday and close to Christmas, the Ministry was pretty much shut down. He didn’t have a shop to run and there was little he could do about his mum.

“Sirius, why don’t you go and buy the kids at the orphanage presents for the holiday?” Hydrus suggested. “I have some money, in my space, from the ‘prank’ vault you can use,” he said with a wink and pulled out a large wad of pounds and handed it to the younger Black, who smiled and tucked it away in one of his pockets.

“That is a wonderful idea, Hydrus,” Lily exclaimed, beaming at the older man, though she did give the two Blacks the look, since they never told her what the prank was. She guessed that they robbed the Death Eaters’ houses, since The Daily Prophet reported that they were all gutted. She was upset that they never told her.

“Yeah, I can do that. Do you want to come with me, Prongs? We have to go to non-magical London. It’ll be an adventure.” He turned to his friend with hopeful eyes. “And we can drive my new car.”

“Sure, Padfoot, I have nothing to do today either.” James smiled at his exuberant friend.

“Sweet, let’s go,” Sirius said, getting out of his chair.

“Whoa, we’ll leave when everyone goes to work. Lily, do you want us to take Harry or are you going to put him in the daycare?” he asked his wife.

“I’d feel much better if he were behind wards, so I’ll take him with me,” the redhead answered, picking Harry up and taking him upstairs to get him ready. James joined her.

The other three men got up and got their coats and waited for the Potters. “What are you doing today, Hydrus,” Sirius asked.

“I told Arthur I’d help him with a product, so I’ll be spending most of my day in the trinket shop,” he answered.

James and Lily came down the stairs with a bundled up Harry and everyone parted ways at the door. Lily went with Hydrus in his car. James and Sirius took the dogman’s new Ferrari. Remus Apparated to the alley near his shop.

Hydrus spent part of his day working with Arthur, but was not really concentrating on what they were doing, since he was still mulling over who was working with Mrs. Black and what to do about Skeeter. Soon enough, Mr. Weasley got frustrated with him and sent him away. He roamed the mall, looking at all the happy shoppers and made his way to Lily’s café. He settled in a chair, discreetly pulled out his book-reader and looked up some of the Darker books.

Lily was too busy to talk to him. He offered to help, but she waved him away. He made sure to purchase tea and biscuits, so he had a reason to take up the table. He got far on the counter-curses in the books, hoping that they would prove useful in the future. For all his education in the last two timelines, he learned that there was always more to learn. He sat and read until the mall was closing.

“Lily,” he called to the harried woman, “I’m going to head home. Here’s the keys, I’ll drop by tomorrow.” He dropped the car keys on the counter and waved to her.

She waved back, made her way to the front and pocketed the keys.

Hydrus headed out of the building to get to the Apparation point and was near an alley when a shrilled voice said, “Mudblood! Scum! Betrayer of the Family! Die!” And spells started flying over his head.

He ducked, turned and saw Mrs. Black in all her glory, with her crazed grey eyes, flying black hair and disarrayed clothing come running towards him.

“Ah, Walburga, I was hoping to meet you,” Hydrus said with a laugh, keeping her attention on him as the shoppers took cover. Oh, this is going to be fun, he thought as he fired off legal deadly curses of his own and a few transfiguration spells. He kept an eye out for anyone helping her, but everyone was either running or trying to take down the crazy witch.

She banished some of the Christmas decorations in the path of his spells. She screamed incoherently and fired off an Entrail Spilling curse. “You dare speak my name so casually?!”

He batted the curse away and fired off one of his own. “We should really talk about your unhealthy habit of booting people out of the family, you inbred bitch,” he said jovially, bending out of the way of another curse. How is she moving so quickly, crazy old bat? She’s old, the old shouldn’t move like that. He laughed again and ducked a curse.

A few of the men on the street tried to take the crazy woman down, but she had a formidable shield. Like one of the glove shields they sold, except stronger and it only covered her back and her sides and she didn’t seem to have a problem shooting off deadly spells.

“How dare you call me such names?! Scum! Dirt! Son of a squib! You are a blemish to the Black name! Die!” she screeched, stepping out of its path and fired off a Killing Curse.

“Shite,” the immortal said, ducking down the alley. “Come and get me, you batty old bitch!” he yelled, hoping to draw her away from the crowd. He was toying with her, trying to get her to tell who she had helping her, “Who are you working with, you crazy loon?” he yelled, ducking another curse, still watching the crowd for her unknown ally.

She followed, still screaming at the top of her lungs. “Dirt! Scum! Defiler of my fathers! Die! Why won’t you die?! I don’t need help, Mudblood!”

He banished garbage from the alley to block the Killing Curses that she was firing off in rapid succession. “You really should get new material, you’re repeating yourself,” he quipped, moving further back into the alley.

Still people were trying to contain the insane woman. The Aurors were at the entrance of the alley attempting to take down her shield.

Hydrus was still firing off his own curses, but she was just as quick to banish the junk. He had to reduce himself to maiming, since the Aurors were there. He was just getting ready to fire off another transfiguration spell, when he was hit in the side and the world went black.


	12. Talk With Death, Christmas Fun and Stuff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to alix33, Winter_Weasley and darrelldeam for looking this over. All mistakes are my own.

Hydrus woke in the grey space, flat on his back and he sighed. Death in all his gloomy glory was standing over him and if he didn’t know better he’d have thought the deity was agitated. The immortal got up and quirked an eyebrow at the dark cloaked man. “So what happened? Please, tell me that I didn’t die in front of all those people,” he asked, frustrated, not wanting to live with the title the Man-Who-Lived, leaving off Death’s anger for the moment. 

“You did, Master,” the dark man said blandly as he turned and conjured chairs for them to sit in.

“Dammit,” the immortal said, taking the chair on the left and running a hand down his face. He could see the headlines now. “Do you know what killed me?” he asked, hoping for once Death would tell him something. He knew Walburga didn’t hit him, it was someone he couldn’t see, but he was hoping Death would tell him who.

“It was a curse from the side; the person was hidden behind of the trash bins. You were led into a trap,” was the soft answer, though there seemed to be a bit of a bite behind the usually apathetic voice. “No, I will not tell you who it was. You must discover this on your own. I will not mess up the timeline more that you already have.”

“You’re mad at me.” It wasn’t a question, Arcturus had told him as much after all. He just didn’t know why, well, he had a theory, but no solid proof. Now that he was here he could confirm what he’d been thinking.

“Yes, though, I do understand why you did what you did, this branch of time appears to be… uncharted,” Death replied, linking his hands together in front of his face and glaring at the Master of Death.

“Uncharted. What exactly does that mean?” Hydrus asked, finally looking at the skinny man and seeing he was very angry.

“It means that you undid something that was not meant to be undone. Had you asked me before you left the last branch, I would have warned you not to save your parents,” Death snapped his voice as cold as the arctic. Yeah, he was pissed.

Hydrus was correct in all his reading about time travel he knew about set points in time, but he would still do the same. He was just going to have to figure out how to return the balance. “Saving my parents has always been something I needed to do,” he said in an equally chilly tone.

“Yes, I know, but they were a set point in time,” Death said, confirming Hydrus’s thoughts. “Their deaths were important to the future. Your parents were payment for the time of peace. By saving them, you made the prophecy null and void. By having the male face Tom, then rescuing the Longbottoms and especially when Lily killed the Dark Lord,” he gazed over his folded hands, his eyes blank, but his tone was icy.

“Yeah, but last time…” was as far as Hydrus got before that cold voice washed over him.

“Even in your last venture through time the prophecy was fulfilled, this time it was not. Prophecies are there for a reason. To undo one makes the future misaligned. Though Tom Riddle will die, it is not by your hand or young Harry Potter’s and neither young Neville Longbottom. You have changed the entire course of the future, more so than that last time. The whole outlook is… swirling. We, Fate and I, simply do not how to fix what you have altered; balance is askew,” the raspy voice lectured, still looking over his folded hands at the dark-haired human.

“Great,” the immortal sighed. “What would it take for you guys to be okay with what I’ve done? I mean, I can’t change the fact that I’m here, so how can I appease you?” He really didn’t want Fate on his case. He had enough women out for his blood.

“We feel that you will need to let someone die, someone you believe to be on the Light side. In addition to that you need to remove Walburga Black from the equation. Only then we will be most conciliated. She was never to have been a Dark Lady. She was to have remained in her house and died a peaceful, albeit lonely, death. Even in your last branch of time, she simply faded away. Had you and young Sirius Black not played with her, this timeline would have been more secure,” Death said.

“I know all that, but what can I do? I mean, I’m not going to go around killing Light people,” Hydrus said, running a hand through his hair and thinking about what these deities wanted.

“We also believe that you should now be the champion of magical Britain in this branch in time,” the dark man stated, ignoring the whinging man in front of him. “Uphold prophecies and see that they are fulfilled, be it by your hand or that of others. If a Dark Lord or Lady rises and there is no prophecy then it will be up to you to kill them,” the neutral being was almost sneering. His usual blank face was twitching, like he was trying to hold back a smirk.

Death really hated having a Master and cursed himself for ever making the Hallows. Now, though, he could get some payback. If Hydrus was the champion of this timeline, then he couldn’t do the spell and go around and mess up any more branches. He and Fate had talked about it, and both came up with this… penalty.

“Wouldn’t Walburga be restoring the balance?” Hydrus asked almost desperately, trying to get out of this punishment. “I mean, isn’t it trading one Dark person for another? Besides, what about all the lives I saved in the last timeline? Why didn’t they upset the balance?” he pleaded, but seeing the blank look on that face he internally groaned knowing he was going to be a champion of this timeline.

“Yes and no, she is completely unhinged and what young Sirius Black did you her made her more unbalanced. It is only the person working with her that is keeping the whole of magical England from going into a Dark Age, though their pain is festering. Walburga Black's goal is to kill all Grey Blacks and take over the Headship and lead them victory to take over Magical Britain. If she accomplishes this, entire families will be wiped out,” Death rasped, letting his hands fall and tapping the arm of the chair.

“That’s not good,” Hydrus stated, rubbing his head. Great another Voldemort and Grindelwald, he thought. Why can’t Dark Lords just want to be Minister?

“Killing her will help, however, no, it does not restore the fact that your parents are Light and they did not die with Tom Riddle’s disembodiment. As to your other questions, because you let Tom Riddle fade away in the other branch and you were the child of prophecy, it was fulfilled. That and no other Dark person showed, or they were quickly taken down, there was no need for Light people to die. Pandora Lovegood was your enemy and not the masses. She did not pose a threat to the entire community. In addition, she died when she was supposed to,” Death pointed out.

“What about all the Death Eaters that I have in stasis, aren’t they upsetting the balance?” That had been a worry, since the beginning of this conversation.

“They are not dead,” was the succinct answer.

“Can you tell me who Walburga is working with?” Hydrus asked again, even though Death had already told him that he would not. “If you do it will help a lot.”

“No. I can tell you that you are correct and it is someone you have slighted, albeit from afar,” came the vague answer, as always.

“Dammit,” the immortal said under his breath. He couldn’t think of any member of the Black family that he had offended, not even Walburga, well, maybe the taunts in that last fight, but before he had never laid eyes on her. “Send me home, please,” he asked politely, no point in making the deity madder.

Death stood and flung his arm wide, casting the immortal’s soul back to his body.

Hydrus awoke apprehensively; he didn’t know where he’d be, but he hoped he wasn’t still in the alley or worst St. Mungo’s morgue. So he was very much surprised find himself in his own bed. They must not have put up portkey wards, he thought, glad they hadn’t.

Tippy was hovering to the side. “Mister Hydrus is awake. What happened to yous, my Boss?” she squeaked, wringing her spindly hands. She had been so scared when her Ma… boss showed up dead. Kreacher had been mortified, thinking that he was freed or worse he would have to work for Sirius, but Tippy tried to tell him that the boss man wouldn’t be dead long. Hydrus had explained it to her when she was hired on. He said there might be times when he died and that he would come back, still seeing it was overwhelming. The old elf was in his sleeping area, trying to keep calm.

“I’m okay, Tippy. Why don’t you go and draw a bath for me, please?” he asked gently, not wanting to explain how he died to the hyper house elf.

“Tippy can be doing that, Mister Hydrus. Then Tippy will be telling Kreacher yous are being okay,” the excited elf said and popped away.

The immortal sat up and groaned. There was a gash on his left side, which was healing, but still sore. Tippy must have put the balm on it while he was out. He thanked Merlin he had the portkey he had invented in the last timeline. While the Black portkey took people away if they got hit with Dark curses, his also ported him home if he died, whether from curses or mundane methods. It had been so long since his last death that he almost forgot about it.

He got up, bathed, banished his bloody clothes and changed into new ones. He berated himself for toying with the woman and not just outright killing her; he should have learned his lesson when Sirius died the first timeline and after Pandora got the drop on him last time. He was getting frustrated that he always seemed to be hit when he was unaware. Though he kept his eyes on the crowd, he neglected to watch the area behind him, a fatal mistake on his part. If he were not immortal he’d be dead, many times over. He needed to come up with a spell that would alert him if there were enemies at his back. He was tired of getting hit from behind. Constant Vigilance, indeed, Moody would be so ashamed of his actions.

He really had to get more battle ready; his training wasn’t going to cut it. The two fights he had been in since he came back were not enough to prepare him to be the champion, even if they were against Voldemort and his minions. He really wished that Death had told him who got him, but that deity was always stingy with information.

He made his way downstairs and ate the meal of roast beef and potatoes, which Tippy made. He thanked the little elf for healing his wound. His phone rang, “Hello.”

“Oh Merlin, Hydrus, we were so worried. There was a report that you were dead,” Lily’s frantic voice came over the receiver. You could hear the desperation in her tone, like she believed he was truly dead.

“I’m fine,” he assured her, “I’ll be over in a few minutes. Did they catch Walburga?” he asked, hoping to get her mind off him.

“No, she portkeyed away right after you disappeared,” she answered quietly; you could still hear the tears.

“Okay, I’ll be there in a few,” Hydrus said to the distraught woman. “Lily, I’m fine really. Think about it for a minute and you’ll understand why.” He had to wonder why she was so upset when she knew he couldn’t be killed.

“You had better be here in five minutes,” she snapped and then abruptly hung up.

“I wonder what’s got her mad.” He said as he held the phone in front of his face, and then shrugged it off and put the phone away. He got his coat and Disapparated to the front garden of the Potters. He went into the house and saw a lot of long faces, some of which brightened when he came in, others frowned. He looked for Harry and saw he wasn’t there, for which he was glad, it might get loud. He walked to the living room and gave everyone a questioning look. “Why all the long faces?”

“Hydrus, I’m so glad you’re okay,” Lily said, getting up and hugging him, even if this wasn’t her son, she still had motherly feelings toward him. “They said you were dead, hit from the side and then you just disappeared. We were so worried. We thought you might have been captured when you disappeared.” She tightened her arms around him, causing him to wince a bit, when she rubbed against the gash. She loosened her hold and looked at him; he smiled and waved it away. 

He patted her on the back and lied, “I was just knocked out and my portkey took me home. Tippy patched me right up. I’m fine.” He didn’t want Remus to know he was that type of immortal.

“How did you let my mum get the drop on you?” Sirius asked, tilting his head to the side.

“I was hit from someone hidden. That and I was playing with her,” Hydrus answered sheepishly, making Lily hit him on the chest.

“You arsehole, why would you do that?! You knew she had a partner! Why didn’t you just take her down and be done with it?!” she yelled as she started hitting him about the head. Her shouts made little Harry, who had been asleep, start crying. James got up to tend to him.

“I was trying to find out who she was working with,” Hydrus defended himself, rubbing his chest. She hit him pretty hard. “Did anyone see him?” he asked, trying to fend off the blows coming from the redhead.

“You don’t mess around with crazy people. You don’t know how they will react,” she bit out as she backed away breathing quickly with fear and anger. She was so angry at him for playing when he should have been taking the woman down and so scared that he was hurt beyond help.

“I am sorry, and you’re right,” he tried to console, “but she isn’t the brains of all of this, and we have to know who’s operating behind the scenes. I only wanted to get her mad enough to get her to blurt it out. I did try and change her, but she’s very agile for her age.” He guided the hyperventilating woman to the sofa, gave her a calming draught and took his chair.

James came down the stairs and sat next to her, rubbing her back in an attempt to calm her more.

“Mum never stopped sparring, paranoid bitch that she is. She always had mock fights with Dad, until he died, then with Kreacher. It’s one of the reasons he’s so barmy. House elves aren’t meant to fight, it’s against their nature, but orders are orders. I’ve told you time and again not to underestimate her,” Sirius added with a frustrated shake of his head. He was glad that Hydrus was okay, but when were they going to pay attention to what he said. It was weird knowing someone was immortal and it was different seeing that they truly couldn’t die.

“I’ll be more careful, I promise,” Hydrus said. He knew he reacted foolishly, for all of his ninety plus years, sometimes he just didn’t think. He was still a headstrong Gryffindor at heart.

“Fine, but don’t you ever do that again,” Lily huffed and folded her arms across her chest and flopped back on the sofa.

“I won’t. Next time I’ll take her down as quickly as I can,” the oldest Black promised, crossing his heart and giving her a grin, making her glare back. 

Remus had been quiet this whole time; he was sure that the time traveler had died. The reports said it was a deadly curse that hit him. There was no cure, so Hydrus must be lying. He was contemplating asking, but looked around the room and decided it was tense enough.

“Putting aside the excitement in the end, how did everyone’s day go?” Hydrus asked, anxious to change the subject.

Lily huffed again and then sighed. “It was busy. The sale wiped out my inventory. I’m going to need to spend tomorrow restocking.” She let the disagreement fade as the potion worked, not wanting to argue with the man she was starting to view as a son, but she was going to talk to him about it after the holidays.

Remus nodded and said, “I’ll be doing that as well.” He would let go of the immortality thing for now, but he was going to look into it. He knew his friends knew and was a bit upset that they didn’t trust him. Only James noticed his sulking friend.

Sirius bounced in his chair and exclaimed, “Me and James had a great time. We must have bought out the whole toy section at Hamleys.” he was damn proud of himself. He knew the kids at the orphanage would get a great Christmas, and he wasn’t spending his money to do it. If the Death Eaters were dead they’d be rolling in their graves.

“Yeah, the kids will have a good Christmas,” James agreed, echoing Sirius’s thoughts. “We also got clothes, winter wear and shoes. There’ll be enough for any child that comes in the near future. From what you told us, they are never too full, but we got enough for twenty children age four to eighteen.” He too was proud of their gifts. It had taken him an hour to get Sirius out of the toy section, but he was happy that at least one of his friends was having fun. He’d have to sit Remus down and talk this whole thing about Hydrus out.

“That’s great,” Hydrus said, beaming at the two younger men. “Now they won’t look like paupers when they go to school.” It was something that many orphans had to deal with, though in the last timeline there were many donations and gifts to the children they were usually small. So, they were still teased when they went to school. Kids were so mean.

“Yeah, your money was well spent,” Sirius grinned. Lily cut them the look again, but they ignored her.

They talked of business and politics until everyone was calmer, then the three men that didn’t live there went home. Lily and James retired for the evening, and just flopped onto the bed, too tired to try and make a little girl.

**Hphphp**

When Hydrus appeared in Diagon Alley the next day, gasps of surprise were heard and everyone started whispering. He went to The Times and told his story; that he was fighting a crazy woman, Walburga Black, and was taken from the side with a non-lethal curse that rendered him unconscious. Then he was ported home, by a Black family portkey, and was healed by his house elf. He told them about the balm and that he would give the formula to the hospital. Hydrus offered a reward for anyone who knew who hit him with the sneak attack, calling that person a coward. He went to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and gave the same statement, though this time he took Mr. Fritz, not wanting to give them the chance to pin anything on him.

The Times reported his story and when the people read it, they calmed down and stopped calling him immortal, or worse a necromancer. 

The Daily Prophet tried to make him out to be some sort of vigilante and that he was a danger to the public. They ran another article that stated Mrs. Black was the new Dark Lady and that it was she that was holding the Heads of Houses captive to make her new army. Most people laughed at that, thinking crazy old lady Black could barely hold a thought, let alone an army.

Hydrus shrugged it all off and went about his business. Soon enough, the gossip died as everyone bought his story. He still had to figure out what to do with Rita. Dumbledore kept trying to corner him, but so far he had evaded the man.

**Hphphp**

Weeks went by and Christmas Eve came. It was a nightmare for the mall. Last minute shoppers came out in droves. The place was packed. Lily was glad she had help now. Two young women, Colette and Vicky, were now learning to run the floor. One was a vampire, who could work the days indoors. While the sunlight spell on the windows affected her a bit, it only made her shy away from them. The other was the Flamels’ daughter. They were both happy to be doing something with their lives. Immortality was boring.

Both women had been around for over three hundred years. They were both beautiful ladies, one a willowy black-haired beauty, the other an athletic blonde. They agreed to work at Lily’s Book Corner to see if they would be attracted to the immortal. The problem was they only knew that he frequented the café, but not who he was. Lily couldn’t tell them, so they would have to watch and see who their boss knew. It was a bit of excitement they had not had in their lives in a long, long while.

The two women got on like a house on fire; they even shared a living space. It was one of the renovated flats in Knockturn Alley. Now that more families were living there, it wasn’t quite as Dark, though still on the shady side.

It was around one in the afternoon, when Sirius and James came into the café and sat at one of the tables. Lily came up to them and kissed James on the cheek, “What brings you guys here?” she asked, pulling a chair from the next table, joining them and sighing when she got off her tired feet.

“The Ministry is boring, there’s nothing to do, since they are on a skeleton crew,” Sirius whinged. He and James had tried to do some politicking, but there was no one around. They went home and played some video games, but that got boring too, since James always beat him. Harry was in the daycare, Remus was working at his bookshop and Hydrus was busy with all of his businesses, it being the day before Christmas.

“We’re doing some last minute shopping,” James added, picking up her hand. He was happy that she was happy, this café/bookstore was Merlin sent. Now that the Dork Lord was almost gone, she was doing something productive. She was also helping Hydrus with his inventions on her days off.

“Right, who are you shopping for?” Lily asked, giving her husband a wink.

“Ah, ah, ah, not telling you,” the messy-haired man teased, tapping her on the nose, making her wrinkle it and try to bite his finger. Sirius chuckled at their antics.

Colette came up to the table with a huge smile and not a fang in sight. She asked politely, “What can I get you gentlemen today?” She looked between the two men, noting who Lily was holding hands with.

“Well, hello, gorgeous,” Sirius said with a sloppy smile, his eyes roving the willowy brunette. She was a looker.

“Hmmm,” she hummed, sparing him a glance and then looking away. “So, tea? Biscuits? We have a nice chocolate cake,” the dark-haired woman said, ignoring the flirtatious man, though she did wonder if he was the immortal she was here to meet. If so, well, he wasn’t bad on the eyes.

“I’d like some of that chocolate cake and some Earl Grey,” James said, thumping his friend on the head.

“Ow, James, what the he… heck,” Sirius squawked, rubbing the sore spot. He noted Lily’s pointed glare and grinned at the waitress. “Right, sorry, I can’t help myself in the presence of such beauty. I’ll have the same thing James is.” He gave her his best smile.

“I will be right back,” Colette said and sashayed across the room to fill their order.

“When did you hire _her_?” Sirius asked, drooling over the nice hips as they swayed in his line of vision.

“Sirius Orion Black, you leave my help alone,” Lily barked, hitting him on the head, making him turn his attention away for the enjoyable scene. Inside she was mortified, hoping the vampire didn’t think Sirius was the one.

“What? I’m just looking,” he whinged, rubbing his head again, “and quit hitting my head.”

“I didn’t hire those girls for _you_ to lust over,” she snarled, shifting her eyes from side to side.

James understood the implication and perked up and paid attention to the two new females. He spotted the athletic blonde as she was going into the back room. He had to agree with Sirius; they were lookers.

Colette came with their order, placed it on the table, turned to Lily and said, “Mrs. Potter, Vicky needs you in the office, something about running out of pumpkin pastries.” She gave Sirius a wink and went back to work.

“Tis the season, fa la la,” Lily quipped with a sigh and got up from the table. She gave James a kiss on the cheek and excused herself.

The store was busy, so Colette went about her job, taking orders, ringing up customers, selling both books and refreshments and generally making sure the shop ran smoothly. Vicky and Lily joined her after ten minutes.

James and Sirius finished their tea and cake and went to Fun For All Pranks. They were going to see if they could get Moony in a better mood. The werewolf had been sulking ever since Hydrus had his little spat.

The rest of the day was spent running businesses or shopping. The family was worn out by the time they went to the Potters for dinner, which again was takeout, this time Chinese. They talked of mundane things and soon enough everyone went home and retired. They all planned on meeting the next day to celebrate Christmas together.

**Hphphp**

The next morning there was a bit of a disagreement between Lily, Tippy and Kreacher. The house elves wanted to make Christmas dinner, and let Lily stay with her family. Lily never liked using house elves, even if one was being paid, but when Tippy said it was a present for Mister Hydrus, she conceded.

The family spent the day in joyful harmony, exchanging present, singing silly Christmas carols and just having a good time. They let the worries of Walburga fall away for the day, though it did remind Hydrus of Christmas passed when he had to worry about another Dark Lady. 

Harry was ecstatic over his new toys, clothes and non-tearable cloth books, which had moving pictures. He cooed and ahhed over everything, clapping his hands at bright lights and giggling over the story books. He also had a wonderful time playing with the wrapping paper and boxes.

Lily was just as happy with the jewelry and clothes she received. She got some shield gloves and a charmed ruby necklace. The dress James got her was a flowing green gown that she was to wear at the Ministry ball tomorrow. The necklace matched well. Hydrus and the other Marauders gave her some trick puzzles and gadgets, knowing she liked to use her intelligence to solve things. Remus also gave her the new magical mystery novel.

James got the same gloves and a manly bracelet that was charmed. The male adults gave him some prank gadgets and a book on household charms, from Hydrus, who smirked and said, “You need to learn them. You never know, you might take down a Dork Lord.”

Gag gifts for the other men were in abundance; there were ties with silly pictures, T-shirt with lewd saying, and gadgets that didn’t really do anything but make inane noises. They were content with these, as long as they spent Christmas with the Potters.

They all sat, midday, for the meal of roasted goose, stewed cranberries, sweet potatoes, spotted dick and other delightful dishes. They ate the feast with a lot of chatter and comradeship. After they were done, Hydrus put a bouncing Harry to bed. It took an hour, but he finally got the little guy to sleep. He went downstairs and joined the family.

“I have one more present to give to James, though I think all of you will like it as well,” Lily announced in a sly voice.

That had them sitting up and turning their attention to the glowing redhead. “What?” they all chorused and then looked at each other and chuckled.

“I’m pregnant,” she said with a huge smile.

“Woohoo!” James yelled, jumping out of his seat, grabbing his wife and twirling her around.

“That’s great,” Hydrus beamed, getting up a joining the hug, patting James on the back.

“Really great,” Sirius agreed, joining the group.

“Yes, that is wonderful news,” Remus said, a bit quieter than the rest, though he did hug Lily and shake James’ hand.

Harry woke and started crying at all the noise. Hydrus went to tend to him, leaving the happy couple to celebrate. He was overjoyed that there would be a new Potter. He got Harry calmed and tucked in with his bunny and went to join the festivities.

Lily broke out the non-alcoholic sparkling cider, Hydrus threw up a Muffliato and they toasted the news. The party went on until the wee hours of the morning. Hydrus, Sirius and Remus went home and Lily and James celebrated some more behind closed doors.

**Hphphp**

The next day a weary group once more convened at the Potters, leaving their workers to tend the shops. The hired help received double pay, of course, which made them content on working on Boxing Day.

That morning after a breakfast of cheesy eggs and ham, the family all sat and watched Harry play with his new toys. Hydrus and Lily joined the tot on the floor and tried to teach him his numbers. The giggling bunny was held firm in Harry’s little hand, causing James to grit his teeth whenever it tittered.

They spent the day playing, reading and generally just having fun. Then it was time for the ball, Remus stayed to watch Harry, since he wasn’t invited. Lily got dressed in her gown and necklace, with her hair pulled up to show off the matching earrings, which were last years present. James and the two Blacks wore black dress robes and matching tuxedos.

The party drove in Hydrus’s car to the area where the ball was being held, which was at a hotel in non-magical London that had Muggle repelling wards erected. They got to the building and pulled up where the red carpet was laid out. Hydrus handed the keys to the valet and they walked down the carpet.

Cameras went off and they stood for the photos, many reporters trying to ask Lily questions, to which she replied that ‘now was not the time’ and she would be ‘more than happy to give interviews after the holidays’, the bright smile never leaving her face. The reporters then turned their attention to Hydrus and asked about his last fight with Mrs. Black, hoping for a scoop, but he just smiled and said ‘no comment’.

They made their way to the entrance hall, divested their cloaks and ventured to the dining room. The ballroom was a thing of beauty, with its crystal chandeliers and mirrored walls. The white marble floor practically glowed with the reflected candlelight. There were tables set with white tablecloths and silver dinner utensils and gold plates. The whole room sparkled like something out of a fairytale.

The Potters and the Blacks went to their assigned table and took their seats. The dinner tonight was lamb chops, rice and steamed vegetables and cost twenty galleons a plate. This was the Ministry. They ate and talked with their table mates about the current political climate and who was running for the Minister position. When dinner was done, Minister Bagnold gave a speech on how well everything was running; however, she was stepping down. She introduced Crouch and Smeller. They each gave short speeches and soon the dance floor was open. The band was a good one and a waltz started.

Lily and James danced. “Have I told you tonight, how happy I am? Or how beautiful you are?” James asked as he twirled her around the dance floor. “You just seem to glow,” he added as he dipped her.

“No, I don’t think you have expounded on my beauty in a long while,” she said teasingly with a twinkle in her eyes, when he pulled her back up. She couldn’t be cheerier than she was right this minute. She had a wonderful husband, a healthy son, perhaps a new daughter, good friends and a well-run business. Then there was the fact that she and James were alive, can’t forget that. There wasn’t much more she could ask for.

“You, my dear lady, are the most gorgeous woman in this room and I couldn’t be more contented,” he said as he pulled her close and kissed her nose.

“You look pretty dapper yourself,” she said, pulling back and looking him up and down. The two chuckled and completed their dance and joined Sirius and Hydrus at the table. “Why aren’t you two dancing with all the pretty ladies?” Lily asked as she let James hold out her chair.

“I, for one, don’t feel the need to dance,” Hydrus said with a small smirk, which made Lily frown a bit, thinking maybe it was too soon for romance for him. She might have to tell the girls to go easy on the poor man. “I don’t know why this old dog isn’t though.” He nudged the younger Black with a cocky grin.

“Oi, I’ll have you know, I was just keeping you company,” Sirius said, affronted. “Besides, you’re older than me, you old codger,” he added with a grin and a nudge.

“Go, dance, drink and make merry. I’ll be fine and I promise if any of the young ladies ask me, I’ll dance,” Hydrus said, clapping the younger man on the back.

“Right,” Sirius said, getting up and heading to where the single women were congregating. The Potters and Hydrus watched as Sirius flirted and got to dance with a cute redhead, who Hydrus recognized as the girl he married last time, Laura. He wondered if history was going to repeat itself. They had made a good couple and had wonderful children. He’d have to watch and see.

Lily and James, now rested, got up and danced again, leaving Hydrus at the table. He was content to sit and admire the dancers. His mussing was interrupted when a twinkly eyed old man joined him.

“Ah, Hydrus, my boy, I heard you had a bit of a scuffle. How are you doing?” Albus asked as he took Sirius’s chair.

“I’m fine,” the immortal answered.

“That does my heart good to hear, my boy. And how are you enjoying this fine shindig?” the old man asked, getting a glass of wine from a passing waiter and taking a sip.

“I’m having fun, Albus, how about yourself?” Hydrus answered politely, nodding his head to the waiter and also taking one of the flutes. 

“It has been a most enjoyable evening, though I did have to talk business with a few aristocrats. These old bones are much too tired to dance with the lovely young women,” the Headmaster said in good cheer. “However, a young man such as yourself should be twirling one of the ladies around. Why, pray tell, are you sitting alone?” he asked joyfully as he stroked his beard with his free hand. He took a sip of wine and put the flute on the table.

“I prefer to sit, I’m not much of a dancer,” he lied, Grace had taught him to dance.

“Alas, not all of us can be. Now, there is one question I would like to ask you, whatever happened to young Ms. Skeeter?” Dumbledore ventured as he looked over his glasses with concern in his blue eyes. He wanted to make sure the young lady was not injured or dead.

That made Hydrus pause; he didn’t know that Albus knew who the bug was. “I let her go, she wasn’t doing anything wrong,” he fibbed with a straight face. Damn, now, I’m going to have to release her, but I’m going to blackmail the hell out of that woman before I let her go. I’ll do it tonight. Plans started forming in his head at that thought.

“Hmmm, I’ve tried to reach the young lady, but all my post return unopened. Do you, by any chance, know where she is?” the Headmaster asked, not the least bit convinced, but he did not want to out and out accuse the young man of anything.

“She said something about taking a vacation. I’m sure she’s just too far away for owls to reach her,” Hydrus said, once more fabricating a lie. He nonchalantly took a sip of wine.

“You may be correct. I will endeavor to try again next week,” there was a cynical tone to the old man’s voice, making Hydrus more determined to let the bitch free. He really didn’t need Dumbledore doubting him.

“Like I said, I let her go. I don’t know where she is,” the immortal deadpanned, putting his glass on the table. “Are you accusing me of something?”

“No, no, I simply wondered what became of her,” Dumbledore said, though there was no twinkle in his eyes.

“Right, so who are you supporting for Minister?” Hydrus asked, changing the subject.

The twinkle came back to those old blue eyes and the two spent an hour talking of the Ministry. James and Lily joined them a few times, but spent most of the night on the dance floor. Sirius never came back to the table and it looked like he was having a good time with Laura.

The night came to a close and Hydrus drove Sirius home, then the Potters and then Remus. The ride with Remus was most uncomfortable.


	13. Is This the Right Thing To Do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to alix33, Winter_Weasley and darrelldeam for looking this over. All mistakes are my own.

The immortal went home after the quiet car ride with Remus. He changed clothes, went to the living room, pulled out the Rita button, removed her from the jar, transformed her back to a woman, cast the spell to keep her that way, tied her up and revived her. He didn’t bother putting on a disguise since he wanted her to know exactly who she’d be working for. “Hello, Rita,” he said with a sugary sweet smile, the kind you’d see on a used car salesperson. 

“I know you, you’re Hydrus Black. You broke into my flat and stole all my research,” she accused him while trying to get back into her bug form. She knew a lot about this man, she had been digging into his background, since he seemed to come out of nowhere. She had been about to spy on Marius, but got caught before she could.

Her mind was going over all the scenarios about what happened, how long she’d been gone and why he captured her in the first place? The last thing she remembered was going to the new mall to try and get some information. Then nothing until she woke in this very Muggle looking living room, which was nothing like she’d ever seen before with all the devices that looked to be straight from a sci-fi movie. She had watched the telly while she was hiding, and being a reporter for a Muggle paper had its perks.

She cursed herself for going to the mall to dig up dirt on Lily Potter. If she hadn’t gone in in bug form, she never would have been caught. But how the heck was she supposed to know they had warded the hell out of the building? She squirmed and wiggled and finally stopped once she couldn’t transform. She glared at her captor over her ugly green and gold glasses. Her tight curly hair seemed to come alive with her anger.

“You mean all the blackmail you got by spying in your illegal bug form. Oh, yes, I know all about that. I’ve read your ‘research’ and I’m quite impressed. However, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave my life, and my friends, alone,” he threatened pleasantly, making sure she understood that he knew all about her nefarious dealings and the fact that he was off limits. He nonchalantly folded his arms and just looked at her as if she weren’t tied up and trying to kill him with her eyes.

“What do you want?” the disarrayed woman asked, deflated. She knew this would happen sooner or later, though she did wonder how he knew, she had been so careful. It was something she was going to have to research. She tried to look compliant and sweet, but failed horribly.

“There are a few things I want, but I can make it worth your while,” he offered with that slippery smile, making her sit up and take notice. “I happen to be part owner of The Times. I can make you a reporter there. One good word from me and you’re a shoe in, but only if you take a vow that says you will report only what you believe is the truth.” He waited to see if she got what he was saying, and when he saw she understood he continued, “I also am in need of a spy. There’s a woman, who fancies herself a Dark Lady, I need someone to find out where she is and who she’s working with,” he offered her that bit of juicy information, knowing she was conniving enough to bite. It was a gamble, but it was one he had to take now that Dumbledore was showing interest in her. He had no problem killing the woman if she stabbed him in the back, but he was going to give her a chance.

“You’ll pay me and not report my Animagus form? You’ll let me write what I want, as long as I believe it to be true,” she asked, her voice dripping with disbelief. “How did you even know I was a reporter? I’ve never met you in person.” She lifted an eyebrow. She thought she had a good cover by living in the Muggle World. She was going to get as much blackmail she could on anyone important and then make sure she took the Wizarding World by storm. It had been her dream since Hogwarts. Now, this man might ruin all her plans.

“I have my sources,” he waved it away, “and, of course, I’ll pay you. I’ll have you know, I am a fine upstanding young businessman,” he answered with a sincere smile. “You’re a reporter, of course you can write believable stories,” he added, dangling that worm again.

“You’re a Black,” was the snide comeback.

“Born to a squib,” he retorted with a snort

“Oh, right, I forgot about that. Will you give me time to think about it?” she asked, batting her eyes at him, thinking that maybe he’d let her go and she could run. He seemed young enough to fall for that. She didn’t think she was a bad looking woman. She had used her wiles before, with good results.

“No, decide now,” the time traveller deadpanned, not the least bit affected by her woefully inadequate charms.

“Fine, it’s not like you’re giving me much of a choice,” she spat, dropping all pretense of flirting. And if she could fold her arms she would have.

“Right, one more thing,” Rita lifted her eyebrows, “I need a vow from you to never double-cross me or my friends and most of my family.” That sugary sweet smile was back. He really didn’t care what she came up with on the lesser cousins. Perhaps if she dug up some dirt on them, they could root out the one helping Walburga.

“Fine,” Skeeter said, knowing this man would put her back wherever he had her.

“My friends are the Potters, Remus Lupin and any Black following the Grey or Light platform, though if you get dirt on the politicians you are free to report that. If it is the truth,” he said pointedly, making sure she understood who she could mess with and who not.

“You mean you’re friends with just about everyone I wanted to bury?” Rita all but whinged, there went months of research on the man in front of her and Lily and James Potter, even Sirius Black and his grandfather, though she did perk up on the politician bit. After all a good story was a good story. She could wiggle around a vow to report the truth.

“Yup, I went through your blackmail and I have to say you are a very good spy, but you leave Sirius, Remus, and the Potters alone. However, like I said, the Ministry— barring myself, James and Sirius and the Grey or Light Blacks— are free game. The more you dig up on Crouch and his cronies the better.” He gave her a sinister smile; maybe she could take that vile man down a peg or two, which would help a lot in getting Smeller elected. Crouch’s hatred of all things not pure human reminded him too much of his Uncle Vernon. He would hate to see that man in office. Hell, he’d rather have Fudge. With her working for The Times, her poison pen would be more credible, even if she did have to keep it to the truth.

“Fine, I’ll take your stupid vow,” she said mulishly, now she’d have to rethink who she could go after. Her mind was whirling with possibilities, but because this man had taken all her research, she’d have to start over.

He loosened one arm, handed her her wand, kept his holly wand trained on her and she gave a vow, which she tried to fake her name in, but Hydrus caught it and made her take it again. When the blue light sealed the vow, he waved his wand to untie her all the way and release the spell that kept her human.

“Who is your Dark Lady?” she asked, folding her arms.

“Walburga Black. She’s vowed revenge on all the non-Dark Blacks, so dig up as much as you can on her. We also think she’s working with someone, since she’s too crazy to come up with viable plans on her own, so see if you can find out who it is,” he answered. “She is strong for an old woman, so be careful,” he warned, making sure she understood that that woman was not to be underestimated.

“Right, I’ll watch my back,” she said and then looked at the young man that captured her. “So, I’ll go to The Times tomorrow and drop your name. Then I’ll look for your ‘Dark Lady’,” Rita scoffed at the idea that crazy old Black could be a Dark anything, though she would still walk softly. However, from what she knew of the woman, there was little evidence that she could attack anyone with any kind of plan, so she guessed the man was right, someone was working with her. She’d dig up who it was and get paid for it to boot. She got up and made her way to the door.

“Oh, by the way, if Dumbledore asks, you’ve been on vacation,” he said as an aside, just as she was about to leave.

“Fine,” she said as she opened the door, mumbling about having to deal with the ‘senile old coot’. She transformed into a beetle and flew away. The conniving bitch took note of where the man lived, but once she felt the wards she decided she wasn’t strong enough to overcome them and just went home, making a mental note to move. Perhaps there might be a free flat in the Alley, since it would be closer to her new job. She did like the idea of getting employment there, even if she did have to take a vow, maybe she could fudge that one. With those happy thoughts, she continued home.

The immortal sighed as he watched her leave. He really hoped this didn’t come back to bite him. He went to bed, thinking he’d have to keep a cautious eye on that woman. Then his thoughts turned to who was working with Walburga, how much he messed up on that confrontation, what he was going to do about Remus, being the new champion of Fate and Death, who he was supposed to let die and how was he supposed to know, his rising good name in business and politics and where to go from here. It took a long time to get to sleep.

**Hphphp**

The next morning it was just Remus that showed for breakfast at Godric’s Hollow, since the two Blacks were having a lie-in from the late night they had, Hydrus’ later than Sirius’. The werewolf volunteered to make pancakes and sausage, since the Potters looked worn out. Lily thanked him and they ate a quiet meal, well, not Harry, since he had a good night’s sleep. He was banging his cup on the tray and making the juice spray all over. Lily sighed and took the cup away and handed him a banana, which was promptly squashed, making his tired mum sigh again. Such is the life of a mother.

“I have to go to the café early. Colette flooed this morning and said we were out of book-readers. I’ll take Harry with me and drop him off at the daycare,” Lily said as she watched the dishes load themselves, and then she wiped Harry clean of syrup, banana and juice. She put him on her hip and was picking up his toys and putting them in her pocketspace. “I should talk to Hydrus about marketing an older version of those phones,” she added to herself as she stood and went to James, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Then the girls could get in contact with me without having to go to the Cauldron.” They still hadn’t gotten the permit for floos in the mall.

“That’s fine, sweetheart, don’t work too hard,” James said, kissing her back. “Take care of our little girl.” He patted her flat stomach and then kissed Harry on the forehead and added, “And this little tyke, too.”

Harry giggled and grabbed his dad’s hair and said, “Daddy, tiss Mummy.” To which James happily complied, making the young boy giggle again as he let the ever-messy hair go.

Lily smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of all my babies,” she winked at her husband, patted him on the face and then left.

James watched as she flooed away, thinking he’d have to get a car soon and then turned to his mate and asked in a neutral voice, “Do you want to tell me why you don’t like Hydrus?” He quirked an eyebrow and gave his friend a firm look.

“He is keeping secrets,” Remus said, folding his arms defensively.

“How many people know about your ‘furry little problem’? Do your employees know? The people who frequent your store?” James demanded.

“No, but…” Remus said, sitting up straighter. He knew where this was going, but he still had qualms about the time travelling immortal. He had done a lot of thinking on that and came to the conclusion that the man was indeed an immortal. He just didn’t know how, and that vexed him, since he felt the rest of the pack did.

“Then you don’t have the right to get grumpy,” James said abruptly, “when you know if he hadn’t come back from the future then you never would have told him about your ‘furry little problem’. Hell, Remus, you didn’t even tell us, we had to figure it out on our own, and we were best mates,” the dark-haired man countered, accusation in his voice, making Remus’s shoulder droop with each point.

“Yes, but…” Moony started.

“We all have secrets that we don’t share,” Prongs interrupted him again, not wanting to hear the argument until he got his point across. “Even me; there are things I’ve never told you or Sirius, because it doesn’t affect your life in any way. I know for a fact, Sirius hasn’t told us about all of his childhood. And I, for one, don’t want to know. It is his secret to share or not. And furthermore, we all know that Albus keeps secrets from the entire Order. Everyone has a right to tell who they want about what they know,” he finished, folding his arms and waiting for his mates argument.

“I know, I know, you are correct, I know… it is just that… some of the things he does just rub me wrong. I mean, he has the Death Eaters somewhere and all he says is they cannot hurt anyone and they are not dead. And, well… I… just… I do not feel he has the right to do that. No person has the right to play judge and jury,” Remus said softly and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He had the fleeting thought to confront James about Hydrus’ immortality, but decided against it. Like his mate said, everyone is allowed their secrets.

“I do understand that, Moony, I really do,” the messy-haired man said softly, “but he knows how those bastards are. He knows their crimes, past and future. He knows that if he lets them go, they’ll simply get a slap on the wrist and continue to commit those crimes. Hell, if he does let them go, they might rally around Walburga, and we’d have another full-fledged war. However, I truly do see where you are coming from.” He placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “What more can he do to make you comfortable with him?”

“I do not know,” Remus sighed, slumping his shoulders.

“Well, all I ask is that you try harder not to fight with him. Maybe, later, when the Ministry settles down more and Mrs. Black is caught, he’ll do something to get the Death Eaters a trial and they’ll be punished by their peers,” James offered. He’d talk to Hydrus about it.

“That would go a long way in making me feel better about him,” Moony said as he perked up.

“Moony, my friend, you have to realize he saved mine and my family’s life. He saved Sirius from Azkaban. Hell, he probably saved you from an early death. Please, don’t make me choose between you two,” James said quietly, he really didn’t want to have to choose between someone he’s known since eleven and the man who came back simply to save him and Lily. He knew Hydrus would win hands down and that made him sad with the thought he could lose a lifelong friend. They had already lost Peter and it would hurt to lose someone else, but the man he viewed as family came first. He really hoped that Remus got his act together.

“I promise, I will try,” the werewolf said, knowing what that choice would be. He really didn’t want to cause discord in the pack. He knew he was not the alpha; that had been James until Hydrus came into the picture; however, he was still conflicted at that turn of event. The tide had turned once the time traveller saved the Potters. He still felt that Hydrus didn’t have the right to convict anyone without a trial and that caused a lot of struggle between him and his wolf, but he would keep his opinions to himself to keep harmony.

“You do that. Do you have time to play some video games or do you need to get to your shop?” Prongs asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

“I can beat you for an hour, but then I have to go,” the sandy-haired man smirked, letting the tense conversation go.

So the two Marauders set about killing each other’s avatar. Sirius joined them halfway through the game and cheered Remus on, since he was winning. After the werewolf left, Sirius turned to James and asked, “Did you talk to him?” really hoping all the discord would fade.

“Yeah, he’s agreed to try and not fight with Hydrus. He did however make some valid points. I’m going to keep them to myself for now, so if Remus feels the need to tell you, he can. I’ll have to talk to Hydrus, but he is a reasonable man, so hopefully they can come to a compromise.” He mussed up his hair more by running a frustrated hand through it, hoping and praying the talk helped.

“Right, my turn to kick your arse,” Padfoot said, picking up the controller and starting a new game.

**Hphphp**

Meanwhile, while the men talked, Lily had dropped Harry off and went to work. When she got there she sighed in frustration, Colette was right; they were completely out of readers. So she spent the morning ordering more. Hydrus had the patent so she couldn’t just whip some up, even though she knew how.

After doing that, she spent most of the morning going over inventory to see what was needed and what not. She ordered more Chocolate Frog and non-magical books, since they seemed to be what was selling best. She was happy for this, if people continued to read these books, opinions would change, though a lot of people’s way of thinking already had with her vanquishing the Dork Lord. More and more Muggle-born and women were standing up and demanding notice. It was working.

When she was done, she wandered to the front to see how business was going and was cheerful to see the bustling. Her smile never left her face as she rung up customers’ purchases, waited on tables, and generally helped Colette and Vicky.

Colette cornered her during the downtime. “So, was that man, who was here Christmas Eve, the one we’re supposed to meet? He’s quite handsome.” She wiggled her sculpted eyebrows and a saucy smile played on her red lips.

“You know I can’t answer that,” Lily said with a sigh.

“Too bad, I think I’ll try for him anyway, be he immortal or not. Who knows, he might come to the Dark side,” she said with a giggle, negating the Dark comment. Vampires were considered Dark by the Ministry, for the sole reason that they had to drink blood to live, but they really were peaceful beings, just trying to survive. She knew that it was only because of the matchmaking that she had a job here, but that was okay with her.

Lily smirked and patted her on the back and said, “Good luck”, silently wishing Sirius the same.

**Hphphp**

Hydrus did indeed sleep in. Unlike the others, he had had a bad night. So when he woke, he did some Aikido, magically sparred with some dummies, meditated and then showered. After his breakfast of Western omelet and bacon, he decided to visit his shops and see how the managers were doing.

Ellie, Mr. Parker and the others that he had hired were doing very well as he knew they would. The Christmas Sales had wiped the stores out and they spent most of the day deciding on what to stock. Mr. Weasley was almost frantic, this was a new experience for him, but the assistant that was hired to help him, Janie Tripe, talked him down and with Hydrus’ help they finally got him to understand what needed to be done.

After a long morning of paperwork, Hydrus wandered to Lily’s Book Corner to talk to Lily. He sat in one of the chairs and waited for her to join him. He was starting to think that she was closer family than a cousin. She came off as a mum, but he was reluctant to let go of the memory of the woman who died for him. Still, it was a pleasant feeling. He’d just see where it went and hold the memory of his mum close.

Instead of Lily, an athletic blonde came up to him. “Welcome to Lily’s Book Corner. What can I get you this afternoon?” she asked in a sultry voice, like a whisky drinker, though from the looks of her trim body, this woman wasn’t a drinker. It was a nice voice.

“Is it afternoon already? My, how the time flies when one is busy. Hey, did Lily get the espresso machine in yet?” Hydrus asked, his eyes roving up and down the nice body. Were he not still mourning the woman he had been married to for seventy years, he might be interested.

“No, it’s still on backorder. We do however offer flavored coffee,” the still unnamed waitress said as she too looked at the man in front of her, and found him very attractive. Then she listed the flavors they had, what pastries they were serving today and waited for him to decide. “I’m Vicky, by the way,” she offered her name.

“My name is Hydrus,” he said with a polite smile, not wanting to lead her on “and I’ll take a large hazelnut coffee, no cream or sugar, and some of that marvelous chocolate cake.”

“I’ll be right back,” she said and went to get his order. She didn’t sway like Colette, but she did have some very nice hips and arse, in Hydrus’ opinion.

He looked over at the sultry brunette, who was ringing up a customer, and noted she was just as beautiful. He turned his attention away, looking for something to occupy his time. He figured out right quick that these two new women were the ones Lily was going to try and set someone up with. He really hoped it wasn’t him, he wasn’t ready yet, so he’d just sit back and watch for now. They were good looking women and he was a healthy male.

There was a copy of The Times on the table, so he picked it up and read all about their ventures at the Ministry ball the night before. He admired the pictures of the Potters, and other rich and famous people, and read the columns, which were short bios on everyone depicted.

Vicky came back and placed his order on the table. “Here you go,” she said with a brilliant smile as he placed the tall paper cup and a small plate in front of him.

“Thanks, Vicky. Hey, can you do me a favor and let Lily know that Hydrus is here?” he asked politely.

“Sure, she’s a little busy right now, but I’ll tell her you’re here,” the waitress said with a wink and then she went to the next table to get an order.

Hydrus watched the view for a minute and then went back to the paper. There was an article that said that Crouch was losing support. It seemed as if he degraded Lily at the shindig last night to some of the Black family, who voiced their annoyance loud enough for the reporter to have caught it and didn’t like it. This made him laugh softly.

Sirius came in and joined him. “So what’s got you chuckling?” he asked as he sat, holding up a hand to flag down a waitress.

Colette saw him, gave him a wink and sashayed to the table. “Hello, handsome, what can I get you today?” she purred.

“Hey, beautiful, I’d like a cup of Earl Grey and a blueberry scone,” Sirius said with a vivid smile.

“You got it.” Both men watched as she walked away.

Hydrus chuckled at the byplay and answered Sirius’s question. “Well, it seems ole Barty made a derogatory comment to the cousins about Lily last night and they took offence.” He ruffled the paper and showed Sirius the article. 

“Hmmm, I think I’m going to have to speak to him about that. I’ve tried before, since I am the Head of the family, but he just waves me off. I’m going to have to be firmer,” the younger Black said, rubbing his goatee. He knew he couldn’t shut the man up, but he would voice his opinion, loudly if necessary.

Colette came back with tea and scone, put them on the table, gave Sirius another wink and left.

“You dog you,” the immortal said, still chortling. “Two women at once?” he snickered as he waggled his eyebrows at the lady’s man.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Sirius sniffed and took a sip of his tea.

“Yeah, right, I saw the little redhead you danced the night away with and now you’re flirting with someone who was probably brought in by Lily,” was the rebuttal.

“Do you really think so?” the younger Black replied with wide grey eyes. He glanced at the willowy brunette and then got a leer on his face. “Well, at least this time she picked a looker.” He shrugged it off and started in on his scone.

After a few minutes, Remus joined them. He had hoped to find them here, since he wanted to talk to Hydrus and this is where the time traveller usually took lunch. He grabbed a chair, sat at the table, flagged down Vicky and ordered some tea. “Hydrus,” he started with hesitation, “I know I have been standoffish to you, but I talked to James this morning and I was hoping we could start over again.” There was a look of mild desperation in his eyes. He really did not want to make the Marauders have to choose between them.

Sirius tensed up, holding the paper tight enough for it to wrinkle. He would remain quiet and let these two hash it out.

“Remus, I know what you think of me and I do understand that your moral compass isn’t the same as mine. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, keep your opinions to yourself and we’ll get along fine,” Hydrus answered with a bit of force.

“I will try,” the werewolf said and took a sip of his tea. “James said that, maybe, once the Ministry has calmed down, you might give the Death Eaters a trial?” he said with a great deal of hope in his voice.

“We’ll see,” was all the answer he got.

The werewolf nodded, resigned, but not wanting to argue. He was going to keep his word to James.

“So what are you guys doing the rest of the day?” Sirius asked, trying to lighten the mood.

And the three fell into a polite discussion on the two men’s businesses and how the Christmas rush affected the stores. They talked all through lunch and Vicky and Colette took turns waiting on the table, each wondering which one was the immortal, well, Vicky was, Colette ruled out Remus really quick, since she knew right away he was a werewolf.

James joined them and the males of the family fell into quietly talking about Walburga. Lily had been too busy to come and chat, but she stopped at the table, gave a hello kiss to James, a verbal one to the other men and then had to go back to work.

When lunch time was over the four men parted and went about their day, stating they’d meet tonight at the Potters.

**Hphphp**

They did meet up at the house, after a long day of politicking and business. They had Italian takeaway, which Harry loved, since it involved his favorite food, which was cheese, that and it made quite a mess, evident by the sauce in his hair and the pasta in his fist.

“We either need to hire a house elf or someone to come and cook dinner,” Lily stated, tired of takeout.

“Or James could learn to cook,” Hydrus said with a chuckle.

“No!” three voices all but shouted, making said man state loudly, “Oi!” and little Harry laugh.

“Why?” the confused immortal asked.

“James is a horrible cook,” Sirius said with a full body shudder. “We let him cook twice and both times we all got food poisoning.” Those were memorable nights. The other two nodded their heads. James huffed and folded his arms and pouted.

“Right, well, Kreacher is not free and he won’t work for you guys unless I order him too, and I’m not going to. And I like Tippy too much to give her up. So you’ll have to buy an elf and free them. Hey, Sirius, see if Narcissa will sell you Dobby,” he said, just now remembering the hyper little elf.

“I can do that,” Sirius said with a nod, “She hates that elf.”

“Who’s Dobby?” Lily asked.

“He was my friend in my first timeline and we hired him for the orphanage in the last one. He’s a really good elf, if a bit hyper, he adored Harry and he likes being free,” the immortal explained. Hoping his little elf friend still liked Harry, even if he wasn’t the Boy-Who-Lived. For all he knew, the excitable Dobby might turn his attention to the Witch-Who-Vanquished; still he’d be in the family and away from the Malfoys.

“Right, Sirius, you do that and let me know, okay?” the redhead said. Even though she didn’t like using house elves, the house was becoming a mess and she and James had little time to tend to it and they really couldn’t hire anyone with the Fidelius in place. Besides, he would be a free one and paid. She would have to see if there was any place to make a small bedroom, maybe they could corner off part of the mudroom or one of the less used bigger closets. From what little she knew about house elves, they liked to sleep in small spaces.

Sirius nodded and they finished dinner. Lily put Harry to bed and joined the men, who were playing a war game. She waited until someone won, reading her book-reader. When James shouted in victory, she put her reader down and said, “I think; I’m not sure, but I think, I know who Walburga is working with.”

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Hydrus asked with a tilt of his head.

“Well, I’m not positive about it. I’m only going on the clues, but I think, I know who it is, just from the few clues we do have. However, I didn’t want to make accusations until something more concrete came along. The article in The Times helped me decide,” she explained, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“You don’t think it’s Crouch, do you?” her son asked. Though it made some sense, they had slighted the man in politics after all.

“Are you sure you’re not just basing this on the fact that he’s a bigot and doesn’t like you?” James asked softly, taking up her hand. He too had read the article and he and Sirius tried to talk to the foul man, but he wasn’t at the Ministry today.

“I don’t know, maybe, but all the clues fit. You three have made his life hell in the political arena by not backing him. He is family and many of the Blacks have turned their back on him. That and he is missing a son, who you accused of being a Death Eater,” Lily answered, putting up a finger for each point.

“All good and valid points, but I just don’t see that man throwing around deadly curses. From what I know of him, he doesn’t have that much magical power,” Hydrus said, remembering what little he knew about Crouch.

“He was strong enough to keep his son under the Imperius for years. I wouldn’t underestimate him if I were you. You seem to have a bad habit of doing that. It was a conniving man that snuck up on you,” Lily snapped, her thoughts turning to his recent death. Yeah, she was still miffed about him playing around with that barmy old bat and not paying attention to his surroundings.

“You’re right, I do, and I’ve got to stop that. Okay, say he is the backer, how do we get proof?” he asked, holding up his hands to ward off her anger.

She slumped and said, “I don’t know.”

“Besides, from what I understand, Yaxley was going to see Arcturus that night. So it is more than likely him,” Hydrus offered an alternative.

“I’ve looked into that and he has alibis,” was Sirius’s rebuttal.

“Right you told me that,” the immortal said sheepishly. “Still, with magic alibis are easily come by,” he argued.

They fell into a small discussion on which man was more likely.

“Hydrus, what did you do with Skeeter?” Sirius asked after about five minutes of that debate, perking up at the thought that they might have the perfect spy. If Peter hadn’t turned on them they would’ve used the rat. Then he shook away the thoughts about that traitor and turned to the older man.

“That’s right, I didn’t tell you guys, I let her go last night,” Hydrus answered, also perking up with the same thoughts as Sirius.

“How does that help us?” Remus asked confused.

“She’s a beetle Animagus. She can get into anywhere as long as it’s not warded. I have tons of blackmail on her and I made her take vows. So she’s now employed by me, plus she’ll be working for The Times,” the time traveller explained. He then told them about the talk he had had with the bug and how it ended.

Once again Remus had to fight with himself not to argue. He was against blackmailing, but let it go since the reporter would be paid, so he kept his word and stayed quiet. He gave a nod to the other man, who gave one back, glad there wasn’t a debate on morals.

“Right, you get with her tomorrow and sic her on Crouch and Yaxley. See if she can find out if Lily is correct or you are,” James said, getting up from the sofa and pulling his wife up with him. “I’m going to put my lovely wife to bed, see yourselves out, will you?”

“Right,” came the answer from all three men as they too got up from their seats, donned jackets and headed towards the door.

“See you tomorrow, Prongs,” Sirius called as he walked out the door to his sports car. Hydrus offered Remus a ride, and all three went home.

“Bye,” Lily called back as the door shut and locked and then she was guided up the stairs.

Everyone went to bed that night, thinking about what Lily and Hydrus had said and weighing who was right or not.


	14. Damn Women

The next day Hydrus hunted down Skeeter. “

Rita, I have a job for you,” he called, when he caught her coming out of The Times building. He knew she got the reporter’s job. They had called him the day before, asking if he knew her. He told them he did and he suggested they employ her in the gossip section, she’d do well there. He also made sure they knew she was a sneaky bitch, and to make sure she took the vow properly, but left the hiring in their hands.

“Another one? You already have me looking for your ‘Dark Lady’,” she said as he came closer, lifting an eyebrow and folding her arms in a ‘what do you want’ manner. Yeah, she was still miffed that she had to work for this man and she couldn’t even get blackmail on him. He had her so wrapped up in vows, though she was thankful that he put in a good word for her, kind of.

“Lily thinks that the person working for Walburga is Bartemius Crouch Senior. I think it’s Yaxley, so, if you would, check on them for me,” the immortal politely ordered, not the least bit put off by her attitude.

“Really?” the bug Animagus purred. It would make a good article to pin something like this on a well-known, Dark-hating, law-spouting politician. She didn’t know anything about Yaxley, only that he worked for the Ministry as an Auror, and that he was low on the totem pole. Though, it was rumored that he was a Death Eater. Now, if she could get Crouch on something, her name would be known all over magical Britain. Yeah, she could do this, not a problem.

“Remember your oath; only the truth,” Hydrus reminded her firmly. He didn’t want to have someone’s name tarnished by her poison quill if they didn’t deserve it. He still didn’t think the law-abiding man would work for a Dark person, even if some of his methods were a bit on the too staunch side. Then again, well, he had broken laws, in other timelines, when it suited him. No, he was still stuck on Yaxley.

She just gave him a wicked smile, a wink and then wandered away, swinging her ugly green and red dragonhide bag.

 _Damn Dumbledore and his all-knowing ways_ , he thought as he watched her go and shuddered. He really hated the fact that he had to deal with her. He shoved those thoughts away and then took himself to the Ministry to find James and Sirius. He located them in James’s Wizengamot office.

“What’s up?” he asked as he took one of the obnoxious chairs in front of the large wooden desk.

Like all Wizengamot offices, this one was a bit ostentatious; with a huge carved desk, flamboyant chairs, and portraits of former owners on the walls, giving unneeded and unwanted advice. Small statues and trinkets lined the bookshelves, which also hosted out of date and newer law books. There were tapestries where there weren’t portraits and the all wall surface was covered in colorful art of some sort. It was cluttered and tacky in Hydrus’s opinion.

With the paintings on the wall, they made sure to keep to politics while in the office. Or cast a Muffliato when talking about scheming, which wasn’t often in the Ministry; people talked if they couldn’t hear you.

“Nothing much, though we did get word that Smeller is going to back Lily’s bill. The one on voted offices being on a four-year limit and only can be voted back in twice,” James said with a huge smile.

They were hoping to pull some power away from Dumbledore. He simple held too many offices to be effective in any of them. If Lily’s bill passed then the Headmaster would have to step down from at least the political ones soon after, since he had both voted offices far too long. The Wizengamot was holding off on the bill until a new Minister was elected.

“Really? That’s great,” Hydrus said with a great deal of hope. It was something they couldn’t get passed in the last timeline, no matter who went into office.

“Yeah, but we have to get him voted in first,” Sirius warned, not really worried, but they still needed some more people on their side.

“Right, let’s get to work,” James said as he stood and donned his good robes. So, the three set about doing some political maneuvering; giving ‘gifts’, using Rita’s blackmail, which was more up to date and more thorough than Aunt Cassiopeia’s, and generally making people understand who they wanted as Minister. It was good day and they got many people to see their side, and then they ran into Crouch.

“Potter, Black, and whoever you are,” Barty said, looking at the three men with contempt. He knew who Hydrus was, but wouldn’t lower himself to remember the name of a son of a squib, even if he was a Black and had pull in the Ministry.

He hated the three men before him on the principle that they were friends with a werewolf, and he heard the Mudblood had hired a vampire. The werewolf was reported to own a business, which he had tried to get it shut down, but since it was in the Muggle World, his hands were tied. He also tried to out the vampire, but no one wanted to deny the Witch Who Vanquished. These people were ruining society with their free thinking.

“Crouch,” Sirius sneered as he walked closer to the man. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you. I, being the Head of the House of Black, don’t really like the things you say about my dear friend Lily.” He glared at the older man. James and Hydrus added theirs and stood to the side letting Sirius handle his family member.

“Black, I could care less about what you think,” Crouch spat, folding his arms and looking down his nose at the upstart. When he got into office he was going to do everything he could to make this man’s life miserable.

“Right, just thought I’d let you know that if you continue to say things about Lily, I’ll do my best to bury you. I’ve already made sure you never see any money from the Black vaults, and that your Death Eater son doesn’t either,” Sirius said, very seriously. “If he is ever found,” he tacked on ruthlessly, knowing that if Junior was ever found this guy would be booted out of the Ministry. He’d have to talk to Hydrus, if it was discovered that Barty Jr. was a Death Eater, there would be no chance of Senior becoming Minister.

“Like I said, you pathetic man, I could not care less what you do or say, but know this, my son is not a Death Eater. I would offer you a good-day, but I sincerely hope you do not have one,” Crouch sniffed and then turned away and went back to his office.

He was still doing damage control over the article in that blasted liberal newspaper. He tried to buy a retraction, but the stupid paper made their reporters take a vow against that so he didn’t have that option. He went to the Floo to talk to The Daily Prophet. They’d listen to him.

“I’m still not sure about him being the backer,” Hydrus said, after throwing up a Muffliato, rubbing the back of his head. “I mean, he is a right bastard, but he follows the law almost to a tee.”

“Yeah, unless you count using Unforgivables, breaking his son out of prison or throwing people in Azkaban without a trial,” Sirius rebutted, ever since Hydrus told him about that timeline, he hated Crouch with a passion.

“Right, forget I said anything,” Hydrus said and took down the silencing spell, not wanting to argue that it was the man’s wife’s idea to break Junior out or that he was the one to put him there in the first place. Or that Senior was only trying to keep Junior from running amuck. No, the past, future, whatever, crime against Sirius negated all of that.

The three dropped the subject and went about their business until lunch. They went to Lily’s Book Corner to have some tea and pastries. Vicky and Colette took turns waiting the table, flirting with Sirius and Hydrus, which Sirius had a great time returning, though Hydrus kept his tone respectful.

After the light meal they separated. Sirius went to check on the orphanage, James went back to the Ministry and Hydrus decided to pay Remus a visit, to see if they couldn’t further along the tentative peace they had going. That and he had never been to his store and felt it might be one of the reasons the werewolf was so standoffish, everyone was just too busy for the only person who couldn’t work in the Magical World.

The immortal left the Alley and drove the short distance, he wanted his car for later, to Remus’s book store, named Reader’s Paradise. It was a quaint shop with a checkout counter, bookshelves, loveseats and small tables. The lighting was dim, but there were lamps on the tables to read by, which you could only do if you bought the book, since there was no way to spell this area. It was a quiet atmosphere. Tea and coffee offered, but no food.

A door on the back wall was warded and it led to the magical store, which had the same charms on the books that Lily’s did. It too had beverages, seats and tables. This section of the store sold mostly fictional reading both magical and non. There was a display for the book-readers behind the cash register.

Remus was doing some stocking when Hydrus came in. “Hey, Remus, what’s up?” he asked as he approached, almost making the man drop the book he was shelving.

“Hydrus,” the werewolf said with a great deal of surprise. “Not that I am not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?” he asked.

None of the pack had come to his shop since it opened, being too busy with their own shops or work. To tell the truth he was a little put out about it, though he did understand that what they were doing was important and it was working, still, they could have dropped by at least once. Sirius was always complaining that there was nothing to do, but then again Padfoot and Prongs weren’t bookworms like he was. And Lily was occupied with her fame, Harry and her own café.

The older man shrugged and said, “I realized that I’ve never been here and wanted to see how you were doing. This really is a cozy place you’ve got going,” waving at the store in general.

“Well, then I thank you for that. Did you have something in particular you wanted to talk about or were you just killing time?” Remus asked, putting the book on the shelf, not knowing what the man was doing here. He figured one of the Marauders would come to visit before the time traveler.

“Killing time,” was the answer. “Did you need help with these?” he asked as he waved to the box of books.

“If you wish,” Remus said and the two men set about restocking the store and talking of mundane things and getting to know each other better. Both were hoping they could maintain the harmony.

It was time for closing and Hydrus helped Remus secure the store and they set out to the immortal’s car, so he could drive the werewolf home. When out of nowhere spell fire shot over their heads. Both men ducked behind the car and looked around for the caster.

“Beast! Foul creature! You dare sully the name of Black by befriending my loathsome son! I was told you were the reason I lost my oldest son. I will kill you, cur!” came the shrieks of Walburga. She was walking down the middle of traffic, making cars swerve and honk and drivers yell. She was frazzled and completely out of place with her witch's outfit and wild black hair. The people shouting at her confused her and she started screeching back at them, firing spells.

Hydrus and Remus quickly raised shields around them or banished junk in front of them and shouted at them to move. Since it was traffic hour and the street was full, the men had to be careful with what they would do. Remus, remembering Hydrus’s last encounter with the woman, turned to watch their back while Hydrus fired off shields and some transfiguration spells.

The Master of Death had a fleeting thought about why Arcturus hadn’t warned him that his daughter-in-law was going to attack. Then he got too busy with the fight to worry about it.

Walburga was still in the middle of the street, weaving her way through the noisy cars. “Foul creatures! Scum of the earth! I will kill you all!” she started casting more curses at the non-magicals.

Hydrus was hard pressed to protect them.

Three people fell to her curses, but nothing deadly. The place was chaos; the non-magicals didn’t know what was happening. All they heard was yelling and all they saw was bright lights.

“Hey, bitch, leave these people alone!” the immortal shouted, only to be drowned out by the crowd.

People were running and screaming and one got in the way of Hydrus’s spell and was transformed into a button, which was good because it was the same time that the batty old woman fired a Killing Curse.

Hydrus levitated it out of the way and undid the spell. “Dammit, I can’t do anything with all these people running about. Why don’t they get out of the way?” he yelled as he cast one more shield on an unsuspecting woman, who was crouched in the middle of the road. “Move!” he shouted and the woman scurried away. “I’m going to try and get closer. There are too many people in the way,” he told Remus, who nodded and took over protecting the public, since his senses told him there was no one hidden behind them.

So the immortal came out from behind the car and put up a strong shield and walked to the old bat, dodging the running people and cars. He still couldn’t fire off deadly spells, with so many non-magicals running about.

Walburga spells were wild. They kept hitting objects, which exploded on impact, making the crowd scream more and duck down, some right in the middle of the road. Then the barmy cow saw Hydrus coming towards her and focused on him.

Spell after spell hit his shield and was absorbed or he had to banish junk in the way of the Unforgivables. He shielded the crowd for those that missed him. He wanted to get close enough so that no one else was hit; he had faith in his shield and banishing skill.

People were still running between them, confused and disoriented.

As he walked his hand, that wasn’t holding his wand, was tightened into a fist. He was radiating anger and the crowd started getting out of his way, though he still had to protect them from the stray spells. He approached her with malice in his eyes, when he got about ten feet from her, a man darted between them.

Her eyes widened when she realized that he was getting too close. She ducked behind one of the cars that had been abandoned in the middle of the road, turned and threw a curse Remus, whose head was just peeking over his hiding place as he scanned the street and the alley behind him. His eyes, however, were not toward the crazy woman.

“Remus, Look Out!” Hydrus shouted as soon as Walburga’s wand pointed in that direction. He tried to transfigure her again, but A Good Samaritan saw that she was the bad guy and tackled her, only for her to port away.

“Fuck!” Hydrus bellowed. He thanked the man, who was looking confused at the disappearance of the woman, then turned to see if Remus was okay.

Remus, upon hearing the time traveler call his name, turned back to the fight just in time to see a Reducto aimed for his head. He ducked back behind the car and felt the curse fly by, missing by mere millimeters. It slammed into his storefront, breaking the window and scarring the wall.

Twenty people in red robes popped into the street and started calming the milling crowd, questioning witnesses, healing the injured, changing their memories and sending them home. They came up to Hydrus and Remus, after the street was finally cleared and asked what happened, checked their wands and sent them on their way. An hour later the two men went to the car.

Remus would have to repair his shop the non-magical way, since the Aurors and Obliviators only changed the story to a crazy woman with a gun. There was too much irreparable damage to do otherwise.

They drove in silence to the Potters and went inside. It was late so everyone was there. Lily was on the floor playing with Harry. James and Sirius were reading from the book-readers. Everyone looked up when the two men came into the living room and Lily saw their angry —Hydrus— and thoughtful —Remus— faces.

“What happened this time?” she asked, panicked as she picked up Harry, her eyes roving their bodies, looking for injury.

“Walburga,” Hydrus said as he flopped into his chair.

“She attacked us in the middle of the street my store is on,” Remus furthered the explanation as he wearily dropped on to the sofa.

“Was anyone hurt?” the redhead asked, worried that they wouldn’t tell her if they were.

“Well, there were three hit with something nonlife threatening, the Aurors had a Healer and he fixed them right up. But her shots were wild, there was too much traffic, so she mostly missed. She did hit my car, some lampposts, maybe a postbox and the storefront. That and I did a lot of shielding. The damn crowd wouldn’t get out of the bloody way,” Hydrus groused, still pissed she got away —again. “We were damn lucky there was no collateral damage.” He sighed and ran his hand down his face.

“Thank Merlin,” Lily sighed as she sat on the sofa with a wiggling Harry. “I know you’re angry, but please watch your language,” she requested softly when little Harry said, “‘oody ‘ay”.

“Sorry.”

“I want to know how she knew where my store was. It is not like she shops in the non-magical London,” Remus wondered out loud, his face still thoughtful.

“Well, both of our suspects work at the Ministry, so it’s rather easy to find out, since you’re registered,” James said, rubbing his chin in thought.

“Yeah, I guess. I am just glad that Hydrus saved my life,” the werewolf offered. “If he had not called my name, my head would be decorating my storefront.” He gave a full body shudder at how close that had been. “Thank you.” He turned to the time traveler with admiration in his eyes.

“Right, it was nothing. So, anything we should know about?” the immortal asked, not wanting everyone to think him some hero. He had enough of that in his first timeline.

“Hydrus,” Lily chastised, “take the compliment.” She bounced the fussy Harry who wanted down. Finally she gave up and put him on the floor, where he got up and toddled back to his number board, making her smile at his progress in walking.

“Right, no worries, Remus, you’re my friend,” Hydrus said softly, then got the niggling feeling that maybe this was the Light person he was supposed to let die. Dammit, but Death and Fate were cruel if that was true.

Then he shrugged off the thought, what’s done is done. He wasn’t the type to just let someone die if he could stop it. He knew sooner or later Fate would step in and someone would bite it, but he’d be damned if he didn’t do his best to stop it from happening, angry deities notwithstanding.

“Nevertheless, I thank you for saving me,” Remus said, reaching over, putting a hand on the immortal’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze. More determined now to make sure he didn’t fight with the man.

“Right, you’re welcome. So, anything else happen today?” once again trying to change the subject.

“Nay, we didn’t get much done after you left,” Sirius said with a negligent wave.

“Well, hmmm, what should we do about Crouch and Yaxley? I talked to Rita this morning, but it might be weeks before she comes up with anything,” Hydrus said, rubbing the back of his head.

“There really isn’t much we can do, until we find out the truth. So we’re just going to have to watch them,” James said with a shrug.

So the conversation turned to unimportant things, but all of them wondered what Walburga would do next.

**Hphphp**

Both The Times and The Daily Prophet reported the incident, citing that Walburga Black had snapped and everyone should be cautious and not approach her if seen. The DMLE should be called at any sighting and a reward was posted for information leading up to her capture.

The public was making sure they were careful. Lily’s victory over Voldemort was encouraging them to step up and protect themselves. Defense books were flying off the shelves in all book stores.

A few days later a headline appeared in The Daily Prophet:

**Vote for Bartemius Crouch: Staunch Supporter of the Light**

The article expounded the virtues of the man who did everything he could to get Death Eaters off the street. It gave his views on the Dark elements who sullied the community and his ruthless attacks on them during the time of You Know Who. On and on it went to make him an asset to the Light, even going so far as to telling how he was grieving over his missing son.

“I have to say, they make some valid points,” Hydrus said, after reading the column. He passed the paper around the table he, Sirius and James were sitting at in Lily’s café. They had taken a break from the Ministry and the stores. Remus was busy at his shop and Lily was waiting tables today.

“Well, can you think of who else it could be?” James asked. He was on the fence over who the backer was.

“Sirius, has the Greengrass boy been brought to Barkley’s?” the older Black asked, turning his attention to the younger Black.

“I think so, I’ll have to check,” Padfoot answered, going over what squib children had been given to the orphanage.

“Well, there you go, another person we’ll have to think about,” Hydrus said, reminding them about Lady Greengrass’ prior actions.

“Right, I forgot about her. She’s not part of the Black family though; at least I don’t think she is. I’ll have to check the family tree again.” Sirius said, rubbing his goatee. Hydrus was right the Blacks seemed to be related to everyone.

“Well, there’s still Yaxley, the Flints, Narcissa and all those widows that wouldn’t conform,” Hydrus said, thinking of some of the people he knew. He knew Marcus Flint was a Death Eater in the second war, but he didn’t think his father was.

“Cissy swore she has nothing to do with Mum and I believe her, since the only way she’s staying afloat is by my money. And the Flints, well, I never thought of them,” the dogman said, thoughtfully. Colette came and refreshed his tea, he gave her a wink, which was returned and then turned back to the conversation.

“Might be someone you should look into,” James suggested, taking up his cup and sipping the fine tea.

“Right, I’ll get right on that.”

The three men finished their tea and biscuits and parted ways at the door. Hydrus went to Fun For All Pranks and looked around the store to make sure it was fully stocked. He made the rounds of his other stores and then decided he was going to spend a quiet evening at home. He phoned Lily and told her he wouldn’t be at dinner. She asked if he was okay, which he replied that he was and that he just wanted some downtime. He went home and meditated a lot on the happenings of the last week.

**Hphphp**

“I’m worried about Hydrus,” Lily said as she settled on the sofa and tucked her feet under her. She had just come downstairs from putting Harry to bed.

It had been a long night and Harry kept asking where ‘unca ‘ydrus’ was. They tried to tell the toddler that he was at home, but Harry kept insisting that this was his home. It made the tyke fussy and he fought going to sleep for a long time. It took Lily an hour to get him settled.

“Why?” James asked confused.

They were alone early in the house, a rare occurrence. Remus and Sirius had just left; both men stayed to dinner, pork chops and mashed potatoes, and then they both spouted they were tired and Sirius drove Remus home. They really needed to get the werewolf to buy a car.

“He just has so much on his mind. With the businesses, our family, the politics, his investments, his inventions, Walburga, her accomplice and that secret store he’s building. I think he’s putting too much on his plate to make sure we have a good life. It’s all happening so fast that I’m worried he’s going to burn out,” she sighed and leaned into her husband.

James put an arm around his lovely wife and thought about what she said, “Well, we’ll just have to make sure he gets some relaxation. How is the matchmaking coming along?”

“He is, oh, so, polite, but that’s it. I think he’s made friends with Vicky, but they never see each other outside the café,” she said, tapping her chin. “When he comes for lunch, she sits and talks to him, but she seems just as exasperated as I am.” She shrugged her shoulder in a ‘what can I do’ way.

“Well, we’ll just have to let it run its course. How about you and I doing some of that relaxing?” he said, nudging her shoulders.

“Let’s.”

**Hphphp**

A day later The Times gossip column had the headline:

**Bartemius Crouch Having an Affair?**

This article was by Rita. It said that Crouch Sr. was seen with a cloaked woman in Knockturn Alley. It did state that it was only speculation and that there was no proof, but what was a fine upstanding politician doing with a woman, not his wife, in the seedy Alley? Crouch’s quote was ‘I love my wife. How dare you accuse me otherwise.’ There was no comment from Mrs. Crouch, who was ill, making Rita venture that it was a good reason for Barty to be ‘stepping out’.

From her spying she only got that the woman he was seen with wasn’t his wife and that they were buying something from one of the Darker stores. She never got close enough to hear what they were saying. It seemed the woman, who remained hooded, had a dislike for bugs and tried to kill her every time she got near. With the Killing Curse no less, which made her demand more pay from Hydrus for putting her life in danger. He just shrugged and said he’d see what he could do.

**Hphphp**

Time passed and the New Year went by without much fanfare. James and Sirius did a lot of politicking and they stopped a few biased laws from being voted in. The Wizengamot was slowly improving and Smeller was at the top of the polls, even with The Daily Prophet backing Crouch.

The Times made it very clear that they were supporting Smeller and that it was time for change. Many people rallied around the Half-blood and were supporting him to the fullest. They liked his platform and agreed that it was time for a new government.

The gossip on Crouch’s affair died down when he wasn’t seen with that woman again and Mrs. Crouch made comments to The Daily Prophet that she ‘trusted Barty with her life’ he was a ‘kind and caring husband’ that took care of her in her ‘time of need’. This led to people coming back to his side. 

The muckraking was getting out of control as the two newspapers battled it out. It was only the vows that The Times reporters took that made the public believe that paper more.

Rita had made no headway on finding out who was the backer, but she did pick up some dirt on Crouch and had no problems running his name through the mud, making sure she only reported the truth, as she knew it, which was easy if you didn’t dig deep enough. It was simple things like he hated Dark creatures and would back any bill to put them ‘in their place’, which did hurt him politically in the more free thinking society.

The bug made sure to get the other Black relations and ran the name Yaxley down with her poison quill, though right now he was keeping within the law. There was no concrete proof the man had been a Death Eater, so she could only speculate that his morals were Dark. Her gossip column was going well and she liked this job. She had had to print a retraction on the whole Crouch having an affair business, but the seed was planted, so she really didn’t care. Hydrus made sure she was well paid for her spying.

The mall was going well, business did drop after the holiday season, but that was to be expected. Hydrus’s stores pulled in a great profit and the immortal was now in the papers more and more as the wealthiest single person in all of magical Britain. That didn’t include what he still had in his pocketspace or his non-magical investments. He took it all with a grain of salt and just continued about his business.

Albus still attempted to get the Potters’ location, but was coming up empty. He did have a lot fun trying and Hydrus was getting to like debating with the quirky old man and his lame excuses. They had many talks about morals, but never saw eye to eye. Dumbledore was thinking of restarting the Order, in case ‘young Walburga’ got more out of hand. Hydrus just shrugged and told him to do what he thought was best, but he wouldn’t join.

Walburga made a few attempts to get to the orphanage, but the wards were too powerful for her and Hydrus made sure they were shored up every time that woman tried to blast them. He hoped she tried to enter, then that would be the last of the woman, but all she ever did was attempt to take them down.

Arcturus’ excuse about not warning Hydrus about the attack was that he could care less about the werewolf and had no idea that Hydrus was there.

The immortal chastised him firmly and threatened to remove his soul from existence. He made sure that the spirit knew that he wanted a warning every time the woman was going to attack.

So the disgruntled ghost stalked her and warned Hydrus whenever she attacked the Barkley’s. He would try to talk to his daughter-in-law, but she refused to listen to a dead man, that and she still blamed him for the fall of the Blacks. It was only after he couldn’t talk her down that he went to get the Master of Death.

Hydrus would then Apparate to the front garden of Barkley’s when he got the ghost’s warning, but she would port way as soon as she heard the ‘crack’, screaming at the top of her lungs.

School started again and they were worried about the orphans. They decided to put some guards at the building, disguised as counselors. These bodyguards would watch the kids when they went outside the wards. The Potters and the Blacks also gave the kids and workers emergency portkeys. 

**Hphphp**

Around the third week of January there was a headline in The Times:

**A New Bank? Is it Legal?**

Rumor had gotten out that the store under construction in the mall was going to be a human run bank. The article stated that it was only rumor, but did ask if it was legitimate. No one really knew and Hydrus wasn’t talking.

The goblins went up in arms, demanding that it be closed before it opened. They had a treaty that stated quite clearly that they were the only bank allowed in this community. The Wizengamot hired lawyers to find out what was going on and if someone was trying to start a rebellion. They beefed up the DMLE just in case. They had just finished one war and didn’t want another. Thanks to the three men’s politicking the Aurors were at full force.

Hydrus’s solicitors were stating that nothing illegal was happening. They had not and would not be breaking any treaty. Though they didn’t divulge what was being built. Client confidentially was a good thing.

Lily’s matchmaking came to a standstill, though all three men were friendly enough to the two beautiful immortals, only Sirius showed any hint of flirtation and only to Colette. Hydrus and Remus were polite and cordial, but they didn’t appear to be overly attracted to the two women, which made Lily and Vicky frustrated as hell, but they kept trying. At least the men were friendly and took time to chat with them during breaks.


	15. Random Things

“So, Hydrus, are you really trying to open a bank?” Sirius asked a week after the article came out. They were all sitting at the Potters, just finishing talking once again about Walburga. It would soon be time for dinner, which the newly freed Dobby was cooking.

“Oh, no, not a bank,” Hydrus hedged, not wanting to spill his secret just yet. He wanted to get it set up first. “I would never go against a treaty.” His face looked far from innocent.

“With the way you feel about goblins, I don’t believe you,” the dogman said with a barking laugh.

“No really, it is not a ‘bank’,” the immortal said with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Right, so what are you putting there?” Lily asked, picking up on what he wasn’t saying.

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” was the answer.

“Okay,” Sirius said slowly, then turned towards little Harry and watched him start naming off body parts on his bunny.

“Head,” the bunny giggled.

“ead,” the toddler laughed.

“Correct,” and it tittered again.

“Yay,” Harry clapped his hands and hugged the toy, which caused it to giggle again.

“Hydrus,” James gritted, “I hate you.”

“Oh, give it up, James,” Lily said, swatting him on the chest. “You should be used to it by now,” she chastised. She had long gotten used to the giggling bunny and now found it cute.

“I know,” he huffed, folding his arms and thumping back in his seat. “There’s just something about that damn giggle that sets my teeth on edge.”

“Buck, mate, it’s only a toy,” Sirius laughed, causing Harry to repeat, “Uck up, ‘ate,” making everyone laugh, which caused Harry to clap his hands and get up to hug his daddy.

James picked up his son and returned the hug. “Right, so what is for dinner?”

“I think, Dobby is making Beef Wellington,” Lily said, taking a sniff in the air. She had been relegated to only cleaning the master bedroom and Harry’s room. Dobby had taken over the rest of the house; it had been quite an argument between redhead and elf, but Dobby won in the end. Stubborn elf.

Dobby called them to dinner and they had a nice family evening with no Dark Ladies, no politics, no business talk and no holiday shopping worries.

**Hphphp**

Weeks passed and it was the end of January and they hadn’t heard from Walburga in days. She had stopped trying to get past the wards of Barkley’s. Hydrus felt it was only the calm before the storm, but he was taking the time to relax with the family. Everyone was sitting in the Potters’ living room one Sunday afternoon while Harry was down for his nap. They were discussing business when Hydrus got a phone call on his cell. “Hello.”

It had taken a month or so to get the crystal towers up, and they weren’t on the market yet, still in production. However, there were a few people, mostly in this room, that had them. Lily was the most thrilled with them, and on her suggestion, Hydrus opened the market up in the non-magical world as well. That took a bit more time, but he had cornered the market and started the trend. As it was, they were taking off here in Great Britain, and soon would be available on the continent.

He was making a killing.

“Hydrus?” came the male voice on the other end.

“Yeah, who’s this?” he asked, only just recognizing the voice.

“This is Marius,” the man answered in a deep voice.

“What can I do for you, Marius?” he asked. Ah, yes, now he remembered, he gave one to Marius, well one of the non-magical one. When Walburga started her rampage, he made sure Marius had some way to call for help.

“I just wanted to let you know that I just shot that crazy Black bitch,” the man said, gleefully. “She came to the house and set off the wards. I went out with my gun to see who was tripping them and as soon as I saw her, I pulled the trigger. She didn’t even have time to get off a spell. She ported out right after I hit her.” You could hear the pride in his voice. He was very happy that he had taken down the woman.

“Did you kill her?” Hydrus asked hopefully, wondering if the woman got her hands on a Black portkey. That did make it more believable that someone from the family was helping her. He was praying that she died, then that part would be over and they could live in peace for a while. Then all he would have to worry about is the Light person who he was supposed to let die, his businesses, and the person hiding in the shadows and getting Smeller elected.

“Nay, but I’m pretty sure she’ll be down for a while. I got her in the shoulder and she was bleeding pretty badly when she ported out,” now there was disappointment in his tone. “Then again, you fucking wizards don’t know anything about gunshot wounds, so who knows,” Marius tacked on merrily.

“There is that,” Hydrus stated, though he did know that Healer could tend the wound if the bullet wasn’t in it. “You didn’t get arrested, did you?” the immortal asked concerned for the cantankerous man. Even though the squib was standoffish, he still help Sirius with the orphanage can was lightening up around wizards.

“Nay, I live pretty far off the beaten path, no one heard the shot,” Marius said, figuratively waving off the concern, though it did make him feel better about the time traveler. That and he had to be thankful to the man for putting the wards on his house.

“Hmmm, well I am glad you’re safe. Thanks for letting me know. Do your wards need updating?” Hydrus questioned, not wanting the man to be vulnerable.

“I’d like it if you came by and checked,” Marius said thoughtfully. Being a squib he couldn’t feel if they need updated or not, so he appreciated that Hydrus would come and make sure.

“Right, I’ll be there tomorrow.”

“Right,” Marius hung up the phone on that.

Hydrus grumbled, “Good-bye to you too,” and closed his phone.

“Who was that?” Lily asked, from her place on the sofa.

“It was Marius. He wanted to let me know that he shot Walburga. She’s not dead, but she might be out of commission for a while,” he said in haste, at Lily’s hopeful look.

“Well that’s good news,” the redhead sighed. Not as good as she hoped, but a reprieve would be welcome.

“Shot her?” James asked. “Like with the guns in the video games?” that got him excited.

“Well it was a gun, but I’m sure it wasn’t as damaging as those in the games,” Hydrus said, rubbing the back of his head. “Guns are illegal here in the United Kingdom, so it was probably a service revolver or a hunting rifle, I didn’t ask, but I think Marius was in the army.” He wasn’t going to tell them about his gun a secret, plausible deniability.

“Too bad it wasn’t like those guns. Mum would no longer be a problem,” Sirius added, not a happy note, but a hopeful one. As much as he hated his mum, she was family. Though if he got a chance he’d take her down, he would just feel bad about it. He was more along the lines that Hydrus could do whatever it was he did to nullify the unwanted.

“She’s going to have a hard time getting that looked at in the magical world, especially now that she’s on the run. I wonder if her backer knows how to treat gunshot wounds,” Lily said, looking around the room. They would know more about wizard medicine than she.

The three Marauders just shrugged, they didn’t know either. None of them were Healers.

“Well if there is no bullet in the wound then it would be easy for a Healer, but if there is, well…” Hydrus stated, not wanting them to get their hopes up.

“Well, Mum won’t go to a non-magical, that’s for sure,” the younger Black said, and they all got thoughtful looks. 

“Right, so I’m going to let you guys in on a secret. I know you asked a few weeks ago, but I didn’t have everything set up, so now I need your help before I open my mystery… bank,” Hydrus said, clapping his hands together and changing the subject. He really wanted this family to be on the ground floor of his new venture.

“I thought you said it wasn’t a bank,” Sirius said, confused and frustrated. All the talks in the Ministry were just now subdued. With this news, they were going to start up again and the hassle from the goblins was barely repressed when it was rumor. He’d hate to see what they’d do now. He cut a glare to the immortal and ran a hand through his hair. If Hydrus had answered the question weeks ago, then he could have prepared. So he told him so.

“I know and I’m sorry for keeping it a secret, but Mr. Jasper said that I couldn’t tell anyone until all the legal paperwork was done and that took months. That and we needed to research how to get around the treaty,” Hydrus apologized and then perked up and smirked. “Besides, it’s not technically a bank. I can’t open one of those. It’s what’s known as a credit union,” he answered with a glint in his eyes, like he was playing a practical joke on everyone, which in his opinion he had.

“What is a credit union?” James asked, sitting up at that look in the older man’s eyes. He too was miffed about the extra work he was going to have to do, but hey, a good prank was a good prank.

“Imagine this, you know how Gringotts has vaults for everyone, right?” he asked and waited for the nods. “And how you have to go to the vaults to get money?” more nods. “And how the goblins are surly and hate wizards?”

“What are you getting at?” Lily asked exasperated.

“Well a credit union takes everyone’s money and puts it into one big vault and then pulls money needed for banking and loans from that vault. You don’t need to ride down rickety old carts to get your money, there are clerks at the counters that will get your money for you,” the immortal explained in the simplest terms he could think of.

“So does that mean everyone has the same amount of money? That doesn’t seem quite fair,” Sirius asked, latching on to that bit and not really seeing the benefit in such an endeavor. After all, the Blacks were quite rich and while he might not be Dark, that didn’t mean he wanted to give away his gold.

“No, no, you only have what you put in your account,” he assured them when they all got strange looks on their faces, like they weren’t sure what he was talking about. “It’s just not separated into many vaults.”

“Oh, how do we get by without vaults? And really, no carts?” James asked excitedly. He hated riding in those damn things they made him fear for his life. It was nothing like riding a broom, with the turns and the twist, not only that but they were underground, making him worry about a cave-in.

“The computers keep track of your money. You come up the teller and make you deposits or withdrawals. They have bottomless bags with them to give you what you need. Though if it is a big withdrawal, then you have to see a manager,” he explained with a smile on.

“That’s convenient,” Lily said, tucking her hair behind her ear. “What else?” she asked, leaning forward to hear. Since Hydrus came back she didn’t trust goblins.

“The biggest differences are that credit unions are a nonprofit business and everyone who uses it has a say in how it is run. You simply have to tell the committee what you think and they debate it with what others think and the majority rules,” the immortal said still smiling. “That and we give out loans and mortgages. It’ll be a small credit union and you have to fill out an application to join. So even the ‘little people’ can have an account and a voice. We can’t discriminate, say no pure-bloods, but we can reject those we don’t think will stick to the rules.”

“Wouldn’t it make it easier to rob? If all the money was in one place,” Lily inquired as she mulled over the explanation.

“Well, I’m can’t tell where the vault is. Sorry, but that is one secret that stays with me.” It was actually going to be in a pocketspace, which was in the back room of the building and guarded with a parseltongue password. Only he and a few other wizards will know how to get to the money. There would be a crystal that would let you into the pocketspace area. All the people at the credit union had to take Unbreakable Vows to be allowed in the back. They all signed a contract that stated if they left the business, they agreed to have the knowledge wiped from their minds.

“Let me get this straight. All someone has to do is come into the bank, go to a teller, withdraw or deposit their money and then walk out? No cart rides, no grumpy goblins, just a simple teller?” Sirius asked, letting go of the one vault aspect. He too was getting excited. Unlike James he liked the cart ride; it was the dragons he had issue with.

“Right, there will be a large safe that will be on the property for big withdrawals, but the money itself will be elsewhere,” Hydrus fabricated, it was the story everyone would be told, and like he said, he had to keep it a secret. “I’m also trying to set up checks, credit cards and debit cards, but I’m still having a bit of trouble with that,” he confessed sheepishly.

Then he explained what those where and how much easier they would be. “Right now, it’s set up for magical signature on a withdrawal and deposit slip. You merely have to sign your name and touch it with your magic or blood and that will tell the teller that you are you. I’ve got other safeguards, but that is the easiest one.”

“That does sound easy. Have you thought about the conversion rate? I mean precious metal is worth more in the non-magical world than here,” Lily asked, she had looked it up once Hydrus had pointed it out. Well, she had known that before, but had forgotten it since she moved to the Wizarding World and immersed herself in the culture.

“Well, the coins are spelled to not be melted down, so I can’t really change that, but,” he held up his hands to ward off the debate, “I’m thinking we could use pounds in the mall for those who know how.”

“That is a marvelous idea,” she said, bouncing on her seat already thinking about how to incorporate that into the café.

“So, what do you need from us?” James asked, running his hand through his hair. His mind was going over the ramifications of this venture, but he was more than willing to help the man who saved his family.

“Your money, of course” the immortal said, cheerfully, “I’ve already got a few of my accounts closed from Hellströms and in the vault, but I can’t be the only customer. Well, the people I’ve already hired have their money there, but I need you guys to close your vaults at Gringotts and open an account in Black Credit Union,” he explained with a hopeful look in his eyes. A lot hinged on what they would do.

“I have no problem with that,” Sirius said, bouncing at what he figured was a great joke on the goblins.

“Me neither,” James added, sparing a glace for his wife, who nodded enthusiastically.

“I do not have a vault. I have already put my money in a non-magical bank. Besides, I do not think that the Wizengamot will let you open accounts for Dark creatures,” Remus said, almost pendulant. He wanted to help but there were still laws on the books about him doing things in the Wizarding World, banking was one of them.

“On the contrary, my friend,” Hydrus said, shaking a playful finger at the werewolf. “They don’t have a say in who I cater to.” he puffed up his chest importantly and then broke out in a chuckled at the gobsmacked looks.

“What do you mean? They are the government. They pass all sorts of laws restricting Dark creatures,” was the confused argument.

“See, that’s the thing. While I have to follow government guidelines for money handling, they don’t have laws against Dark creatures opening _accounts_. Only _vaults_.” Hydrus chuckled. It had all been in the wording. He and Mr. Jasper went over the treaties and the laws with a fine-tooth comb and discovered that there were plenty of rules they could bend. Everything they were doing was legal.

“Oh, sneaky,” praised Sirius.

“With us three doing politics, I don’t see restrictions popping up anytime soon, unless Crouch gets voted in,” Hydrus said, rubbing the back of his head. It would throw a wrench in the works if that bigot was elected. “Still, I’m sorry for all the work you guys are going to have to do with the Wizengamot.”

“Which reminds me, Hydrus, is there any way I can talk you into releasing Junior?” Sirius asked, waving away the apology and leaning forward. He hoped that the time traveler would comply. It would make things much easier.

“Why?” was the response.

“Well, if we can prove he’s a Death Eater, then Senior will never be Minister,” Padfoot reasoned.

“Yeah, but do we want to take the chance that he’ll get free again? If you think your mum is crazy, she has nothing on that fanatic,” Hydrus said forcefully, not sure if it was a good idea. That man had been a major pain in the arse in his first timeline. He was devious and cunning and would be a blight on society if he was ever free enough to run around. While he couldn’t resurrect Tom, he could help Walburga and that would be bad.

“Well, is there some other way you can out him without freeing him?” Lily asked, thinking along the same lines as Sirius.

“I might have a few ideas,” came the evasive answer as plans swirled around the immortal’s head.

“Right, I don’t want to know,” both Lily and Remus stated, causing some chuckling.

“I hear Harry. Why don’t we leave the business talk for another time?” James said, getting off the sofa and going up the stairs.

“Sounds like a plan,” Hydrus agreed vacantly. He was working on his plan to out Barty Jr.

“Unca ‘dyrus” came the excited voice of a now clean and wide-awake toddler.

“Hello, Harry,” the said uncle said, taking the tot from James and giving him a raspberry.

“He misses you when you’re not here,” Lily said, smiling at the two. Hydrus was taking more and more time for just himself, and while Lily was glad he was relaxing, Harry hated it when he was gone.

“I was only gone for a few days,” the older Black said as he bounced the giggling baby.

“What can I say? He really thinks of you as family,” the redhead replied. “We all do,” she added, putting her hand on his arm.

Hydrus beamed at his younger self and he spent the rest of the day just playing with Harry while the others did some research. They didn’t take Walburga being out of the scene as a time to let their guard down. If she was working with someone, then they still had to worry about that person.

**Hphphp**

Hydrus called it an early evening and went home right after a lovely meal of chicken stir-fry. When he got home he called Rita, whom he had given a phone to, since she was his spy. “Rita, I have a story for you,” he said, when she answered.

“Really, what type of story?” came the sarcastic reply. While he had given her some juicy gossip, he hadn’t really given her anything that would put her on the map, so to speak. Because she had to retract the article on Crouch having an affair, her readers dropped a bit. She was still top gossip reporter, but she wanted front page news.

“Well, I can’t really tell you over the phone, but I want you to be at your flat in a half an hour. I’m going to kidnap you and give you a scoop that will take Crouch out of the running,” Hydrus said, going over how he was going to pull this off.

“You want me to let kidnap me?” Rita said, surprised.

“Yup, you can only tell the truth as you know it, so be in your flat and then I’ll come and get you,” the immortal explained. “It will be worth your while, I promise,” he said with conviction.

“Right, I’ll be there,” she agreed after a long pause. It wasn’t like she really had a choice, but if it was a good story, well…

Hydrus said his farewells, hung up the phone and went to one of the empty rooms of the house. He made sure that there was nothing in there, but two chairs in the middle and one off to the side in the shadows. He covered the windows and pulled the pictures off the walls, the room was now devoid of anything to identify it. When the half an hour was up, he put on a hooded cloak and Apparated to Rita’s flat. He stunned her as soon as she turned to him and then popped back to his house. Putting her in one of the chairs, he went to the garden and called the Barty rock. He took it to the room, put it in a chair, reverted it into the man, tied him up and dropped some truth serum in his mouth.

“Rita,” he said upon waking her, making sure to change his voice, “meet Barty Crouch Jr., a Death Eater.” He went to the chair in the shadows and made sure his hood was up. If they took her memory then he would never be seen. “Ask him anything you want. He’s been dosed with Veritaserum.” He said in a deep voice, keeping his holly wand on his lap.

“Oh, this will be good,” the reporter cooed as she took out a parchment and Dicta Quill. “What is your name?” she asked the tied up man.

“Bartemius Crouch Junior,” was the vacant reply. Since he was under the effects of the potion, he simply sat and answered the question.

“Are you a Death Eater?”

“Yes,” he answered, causing Rita to almost clap with glee.

On and on the questions went, until Rita got the full story of Jr. How he became a Death Eater. What he had done to please his Lord. Why he went against his father. It took almost two hours for her to wring the complete tale out of him, but she was satisfied in the end. She wouldn’t even have to fabricate much, only that she couldn’t identify her kidnapper, which was easy enough since he never showed his face. All she had to do was state that a hooded man took her to an undisclosed location, which was all true.

She took a camera out of her bag and snapped some pictures, making sure that his arm was exposed. “I’m done,” Skeeter said cheerfully as she put the camera back in her purse. 

“Right,” the immortal commented and then stunned her. He turned Barty back into a rock, left him on the chair and then he took Rita home and put her to bed. The stunning spell would wear off on its own. He then went home and threw the Barty rock back in his garden. Satisfied that he had covered all the bases, he went to bed.

**Hphphp**

Two days later The Times headline read:

**Bartemius Crouch Junior Tells All**

_By Rita Skeeter_

_Dear readers, imagine my surprise when I was taken from my home by a hooded man to an unknown location. There in the room was a Death Eater, who was tied to a chair. Imagine how I felt seeing the young man tied to a chair, with the Dark Mark exposed. I was frightened for my life, but was assured by the hooded man that Bartemius Crouch Junior was subdued. What happened next was a story you will not believe, but I tell you it is the truth…_

Rita continued on that after she was kidnapped her capturer informed her that Jr. was dosed with truth serum. What followed was an article on who had been a Death Eater, how they became one and the horrors they committed on the public. It also stated Jr’s undying loyalty to the Dark Lord and why he turned on his father. In the retelling, Jr. stated that he was only following in his father’s bigoted footsteps, but did something about it instead of following the laws. There was a picture on the front page of the young man tied to a chair, his face exposed, with his arms bare showing the Dark Mark.

Crouch Sr. stormed into the office of The Times and threatened to arrest Rita if she didn’t tell him where his son was and for her to retract the article. Rita reiterated her story about being kidnapped, she had even filed a complaint with the DMLE, and that she was under a vow to only report the truth. Her editor and coworkers backed her story. He had nothing on her, plus she was too much of a public figure to just be chucked into Azkaban, not while he was running for Minister. The people would be up in arms if he arrested everyone who wrote something defamatory about him and his family. Soon he left in a huff, hoping he could get The Daily Prophet to hear him out.

The fallout was tremendous. Smeller used it to gain more supporters. Crouch was drummed out of the DMLE and was now out of the running for Minister. He tried to retaliate with an article in The Daily Prophet stating that it was all a setup and that his son wasn’t a Death Eater. He demanded that whoever was holding his son be brought to justice. The public was having none of it, Skeeter’s article was too damning.

“Well, that’s one way to do it,” Sirius said after reading both the articles. He put the papers down on the table they were sitting at and Lily’s Book Corner was buzzing with gossip and speculation. They had to throw up a mild Muffliato just to be able to talk.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Hydrus said, taking a sip of his tea.

“Right,” James said with a lift of his eyebrow, but he too let it go. “The Wizengamot is about ready to just let Smeller have the office, since he’s the only one running.” He rubbed his hands together happily.

“That’s a good thing, right? Isn’t it what you guys wanted?” Hydrus asked as he looked between the richer of the three. He would be ecstatic to see the man in office. 

“It is,” James confirmed with a vicious smile. “With Smeller as Minister, we can prevent a lot of bigoted laws, though he might not have as much pull as we like. We’ll have to wait and see.” He frowned a bit at that.

While Smeller was a righteous man, he didn’t have a lot of gold or a family name, but with people like the Potters and the Blacks backing him, he might just make a good Minister. His platform was firmly on the Grey, bordering Light.

“So when are you opening your… credit union?” Sirius asked, changing the subject.

“In a couple of weeks. I still need you guys to close your vaults, set up some equipment, go over some paperwork and many other little things,” Hydrus explained, rubbing the back of his head. Opening the credit union was a hassle. There were so many laws and regulations that they had to work around, just when they thought they covered everything some little detail popped up. Thank Merlin for Mr. Jasper.

“I’ll do that today, I have to tell ya, the goblins won’t be happy,” James stated. He was more than happy to comply. Goblins be damned.

“There’s not much they can do about it,” snarked the immortal.

“They’re going to be more up in arms when I pull the Black money out. I’ve already talked to the family and told them I’m closing the main vault and that there might be fallout,” Sirius said, rubbing his goatee.

Hydrus pulled some papers out of his pocketspace. “Oh, right, I forgot, here are some applications,” he said as he handed them over to the younger Black. “Have them fill these out if they get too much flak from the goblins. These explain the rules and regulations of the credit union. What it is, how it works and the benefits,” he added pulling out some glossy pamphlets. “If they don’t get accepted they can always bank outside of Britain.”

“Do we have to fill out these… applications?” Remus asked, looking over one of the handouts.

“Yes, everyone does,” the immortal replied, “but you guys should be fine.” His lawyer was the one to write them up, keeping within the laws. There was a team of people who had already made rules to follow and they would be going over the applications. Right now that team consisted of some of his business managers and workers.

“What are you going to do if they revolt?” Remus asked. Like James and Sirius, it had been preying on his mind since Hydrus told them about his newest endeavor.

“Not, my problem, oh, I don’t mean I won’t fight, but monopolies are not good, so if they revolt then it will be up to the DMLE and the Wizengamot to control them,” Hydrus said with a wave of his hand, when they looked at him in confusion. “Besides, if they riot then it will only make the public hate them more and hopefully, more alternate banks or credit unions will open.”

“That’s one scenario,” James said thoughtfully.

They finished their tea and James and Sirius went to Gringotts. Remus went back to work and Hydrus chatted with Vicky.

**Hphphp**

Upon entering Gringotts, James went up to the nearest open goblin and stated, “I’d like to close my vaults,” he stated imperiously as a wicked smirk spread across his face.

“Gringotts not good enough for you, human?” the goblin sneered as he set aside the gem he was weighing. 

“With customer service like that, then, no, they are not,” the messy-haired man sneered back.

“What will you do with your money? Gringotts offers the highest security in all of Britain,” the goblin asked, his face in a snarky smile. “You heard about the robberies of those that tried to keep them in their homes. Will you take such a chance, human?” the still unnamed goblin questioned.

“That isn’t your concern,” was the casual rebuttal as James folded his arms and glared at the greedy creature. Oh, he knew that Hydrus and Sirius were the ones behind the gutting of those houses, so even if he was to do that, he had little worries, he could always keep his treasures in his pocketspace.

“Do you have your key?” the goblin asked grumpily, not liking it, but there was little he could do. James handed the key over with a flourish, and the goblin took it and looked at it, “Fine, take your money and I hope you get robbed. Steelclaw, take this _human_ to his vaults.” The key was thrown back at James, who caught it without effort.

Suddenly there was a loud exclamation, “What?! You can’t close your vaults!”

James looked over and spotted Sirius sneering at the goblin in front of him. The poor goblin seemed to be ready to weep. There were gobsmacked expressions all over the bank as people started to whisper.

The goblins were worried; the Black vaults were some of the riches in Gringotts, barring the Malfoys, and with the Head missing those vaults were frozen until young Draco came of age. They were still upset that the unknown, very rich Black banked outside of Britain, but if the younger one closed his vaults they could be ruined.

“I can do with my gold anything I want,” Sirius replied, standing regally, looking down his nose at the goblin as a small smile played at his lips. He was enjoying himself.

“But, but, you can’t,” the little being wailed.

“Come, human, and get your vault cleared,” Steelclaw said, drawing James’s attention away from his mate. There was some thinking going on in that brain, as the goblin wondered why the two friends were both pulling their money. Perhaps rumors of the older Black opening a bank weren’t unfounded after all. He would have to see the King about this. There would be retribution if the treaty was broken.

“Right,” the Potter male said. They rode a cart down to the first vault, which James hated. He emptied it into his pocketspace with a wave of his wand, making the goblin look disgruntled. The process was repeated three times, though James did have to wonder what he would do with all the family treasures. Hydrus hadn’t said anything about storage for those. After he was done, he waited outside Gringotts for Sirius, who would take longer.

People were whispering and pointing in his direction. One man came up to him and asked, “Mr. Potter, why have you closed your vaults?” worried that his gold was in jeopardy.

James smiled and said, “It’s a secret, but if I were you, I’d look into better security than Gringotts.”

“I thought Gringotts was the securest place in all of Britain,” the confused man stated.

“Oh, it is, for the moment, but I have inside news. It’s good enough for me to take a leap of faith,” James said mysteriously.

“Oh,” the disappointed man said, and shook his head and wandered away.

Sirius joined him a few minutes later, laughing his arse off. “Did you see their faces?” he asked, his face bright with mirth.

“No, I was too busy with my own goblin. I did hear the dismay when you said you were closing your vaults. That was bloody brilliant,” Prongs added, clapping his best mate on the back.

“Well, I’ll have to get Hydrus to lend a pensieve,” the younger Black returning the gesture and the two men went about their day.

**Hphphp**

After the Marauders left the café, Hydrus chatted with Vicky for a few minutes. “Do you like working here?” he asked, thinking someone of her beauty would not enjoy such menial work.

“I really do,” she answered with a bright smile. “Mrs. Potter is a wonderful boss. She takes the time to help us when we’re busy and pays us really well.” She was actually excited about her job, she never did waitressing before. She had mostly stuck to running businesses, not working in them. While she had a lot of gold of her own, working here was relaxing and a lot less stress, albeit hard on the feet.

“How did you meet Lily?” the male immortal asked, wondering how Lily talked her into it. He would think that a woman of her stature would be more at ease in a business like atmosphere.

“Oh, she talked to my parents and they said I was looking for work,” she said, mostly truthful. Well, the first half was, while she wasn’t looking for work she was searching for a mate. And she was sure the man in front of her was the one.

“So, this isn’t a setup for one of us?” Hydrus asked bluntly, with a lifting of an eyebrow.

“Well, I do I will admit that I get to meet nice people, such as yourself,” she hedged. Her smile dimmed a bit at being caught out. “And that I was hoping to meet Mr. Right,” she confessed.

“I see. Well, just to let you know, I’m not looking for a relationship right now. I do however like to have friends,” Hydrus said gently, not wanting to disqualify a friendship, but wanting to let her know he wasn’t on the market. He had enough women throwing themselves at him, thanks to Witch Weekly naming him the richest man in Britain.

“Oh,” was the disappointed reply. “I can do friends,” she added with a brilliant smile. Many good relationships started out as friends.

“I know Lily’s heart is in the right place, but I lost a loved one not too long ago and I’m still getting over that loss,” he added in a sad voice. The grief had lessened significantly as months passed, but he didn’t want to date a mortal. He had no idea what was going through Lily’s head, she knew this.

Internally Vicky perked up, that was the clue she needed to know she was right. “I’m sorry for your loss. I do know how that feels,” she replied, touching his hand and giving him a soft smile, which showed she truly did. She too had loved a mortal and was devastated when he died. Though, she did cherish the time they had, it was still quite a blow.

“So, what do you do when you’re not working here?” Hydrus asked, withdrawing his hand and changing the subject and the two immortals had a casual conversation about nothing important until Hydrus had to leave.

Lily came to the table and joined Vicky, “So, how did it go?”

“Well, I figured out he was the immortal, but he is still mourning his lost love,” Vicky said, as she started clearing the table. “I have no problem being his friend for now.”

“Well, I can’t tell you if you’re right, but Hydrus can use good friends,” Lily stated, helping her pick up the cups. They walked to the small kitchen area and put the dishes in the dishwasher.

“I’m going to let Colette know what I think. I’ll also mention that he is not interested in romance, though I think she’s got her sights set on Sirius,” Vicky said, glad that she wouldn’t be competing with the sultry vampire.

“You do that,” Lily stated and went back to the office.


	16. Moving Along

The next day at the Potters, while finishing a full English breakfast, James turned to the older Black and asked, “Hydrus, what are we supposed to do with all our family heirlooms? Now that we’ve cleared the vaults from Gringotts, we don’t have any place to store them. Well, they are all in my pocketspace right now, but I don’t want to leave them there.” Well, he had the manor, but he didn’t want to store them there, it still stirred up too many memories. He didn’t want to keep them in the pocketspace, because if for some reason he died, they’d be lost.

“Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. Some of that shite is pretty valuable and I don’t see keeping it in my pocketspace either. What if I die? Then it will all be buried with me and lost to whoever is my heir,” Sirius added, echoing James’ thought.

Right now, Harry was his heir, but if things started looking up with the two women, he had his eye on, maybe he’d get kids of his own. He had never thought about that before, but seeing the Potters’ happy family, with one more on the way, he was thinking more and more about settling down. He finished his eggs and got hit on the head by Lily. 

“Language,” the redhead snapped, glancing at the busy Harry, who was trying to use his spoon to scoop up some beans. The toddler would get his bite halfway to his mouth, then the spoon would tilt and they would drop back on his plate. Lily leaned over and helped him guide his hand to his mouth, with only a few beans on the spoon. When he finally got something there, he smiled and they leaked right over his chin, but that was okay. Lily smiled back and Dobby popped over and handed her a wet flannel, which she promptly used.

“Sorry,” the youngest Black said and then turned his attention back to the older Black.

“Oh, didn’t I mention the safety deposit boxes?” Hydrus asked, looking between the two men.

“What’s a safety deposit box?” was the curious answer from three different voices.

“Well, it’s like a miniature vault. There will be a room with tons of these… well, crystals that will have the pocketspace on them. Each crystal will be stored in a small drawer, which will be numbered and have a key and a magical signature lock. There is a fee for each box. They are password protected and only you or your family can access them. You take the crystal into a large room and empty it and then you can view what’s in the ‘box’,” he explained, taking a bite of bacon.

“No, you didn’t mention that,” James mildly chastised. He was then hit with another thought, “I was wondering if we could showcase some of the older things that have been sitting around gathering dust in the vaults. Some of those items are really historical and it’s a shame that they aren’t shared.” Picturing what he had in mind. It would be a beautiful building and they had plenty of empty businesses in Diagon Alley. All they had to do was gut a few and make a large showcase.

“Like a museum?” the immortal asked. It was an idea he had puttered around with. “I have a few things that would bring customers in,” he hedged and then pulled out the diadem.

“Isn’t that Rowena Ravenclaws tiara?” Lily gasped as she dropped the flannel that she was using to wipe Harry’s face.

“Yeah,” was the sheepish answer. He put the diadem on the table and everyone admired the beauty of the piece.

A raven’s head topped the crown with jeweled and gold wing shaping downward; a large sapphire was in the middle and etched upon the diadem’s surface was Ravenclaw's famous quote: _"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."_

“I thought it was lost,” Remus said in not quite a questioning tone. He reached out to touch the treasure and then pulled his hand back, thinking he was unworthy. So he looked on with awe and read the quote with a nod of his head at the wisdom.

“Tom used it for a horcrux,” Hydrus explained as he picked it up and put it back in his space.

The group gasped at the blasphemy.

The time traveler scoffed, “You’re surprised? After all he did use Helga’s cup.”

With that they all nodded and were glad that the time traveler could remove such taint without destroying the artifacts.

“How did he find it?” Lily asked, “It’s been lost for centuries.”

“He got the location from Helena, the daughter of Rowena, and corrupted it,” he shrugged as if it were no big thing, but then again, he’d known about it for over seventy years.

“How did you know that?” she inquired as she removed the now clean tot from his chair. They all got up from the table and made their way to the living room.

Dobby would take care of the dishes. That little house elf was Merlin sent. Lily loved the little guy and he was devoted to her. According to him, she made all the lives of house elves better by ridding the world of He Who Must Not Be Named. Dobby was also taken with little Harry, much to everyone’s relief.

“She told me when I was hunting them in my first timeline,” the immortal said with another shrug.

“Oh, how did you meet her?” was Remus’ question.

“She’s the Grey Lady of Ravenclaw,” Hydrus said as he settled into his chair.

“You mean to tell me that the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw has been at Hogwarts this entire time and we did not know?” the werewolf asked, awestruck as he sat carefully in his regular place on the sofa.

Lily put Harry on the floor with his bunny and sat on the sofa to hear what Hydrus had to say. James and Sirius had already taken their seats, but weren’t quite as interested in the woes of the famous ghost.

“Oh yeah. So is her murderer,” Hydrus stated, causing everyone’s head to snap in his direction.

“What?!” was the chorused response.

“Yeah, I can’t believe you guys don’t know all this. I thought you talked to the ghosts when you were students.” He looked to the Marauders with a raise of his eyebrow.

“Well,” Sirius said, rubbing his goatee, “we mostly talked to Peeves. The rest of the ghosts really couldn’t do anything but be lookout, and they all stated they weren’t going to help us break the rules. So, yeah, we didn’t really talk to them much. Besides, it’s a well-known fact that the Grey Lady doesn’t talk to anyone. I’m surprised she talked to you,” he finished with a questioning tone.

“Well, I kinda tricked her into it,” Hydrus stated, rubbing the back of his head.

“Who is her murderer?” Lily asked eagerly, leaning forward to hear the answer to the question that always bugged her about that particular story.

“The Bloody Baron,” Hydrus answered and then went on to tell of the tale of romance and betrayal of the two ghosts. “When Helena stole the diadem from her mum, she ran to the woods of Albania. Rowena fell ill and tasked the Bloody Baron, who loved Helena, to go and bring her back, so she could see her one last time. When Helena refused, he killed her and then stabbed himself with the same knife.” He grimaced at the story of the two. He remember when the tale got out in the last timeline, some women found it romantic. He didn’t see it as such and thought those women barmy.

“That sounds like something straight out of a romance novel,” Lily stated with a thoughtful look in her eyes, making Hydrus cringe that the redhead would think it so.

“A murder/suicide is not romantic,” Sirius said with a shake of his head.

“Oh, I don’t mean that I think it is, just that there are some stories that would depict it as such,” she assured the men, causing them to sigh with relief.

“Anyway, what else do you have squirreled away in that pocketspace of yours? I know you have the Hufflepuff cup and Slytherin’s locket. Do you have anything from Gryffindor?” Sirius asked, almost bouncing in his chair at the thought.

“Sorry, no, but I know where we can get stuff from Merlin,” Hydrus stated with a mischievous look in his eyes.

“What?!” came the chorus of four adult voices, making little Harry look at them with a tilt of his tiny head, then he went back to his bunny. 

“Well, if I tell you I don’t want to hear anything about morals,” he cut a glare to Remus, who just shook his head that he would stay silent. “Okay, good. Besides, we’ll make it right, but, in my last timeline Hogwarts showcased something from all the founders and Merlin. However a school really isn’t a place for that kind of stuff. Too many people missed out on seeing them, since they could only go there when class wasn’t in session,” he explained. He never did write the Board and now he had some pretty neat plans on what to do with that treasure.

“What can we do? Where is this treasure?” Sirius asked, still jumping in his seat.

“Well, I was thinking we clear out the Room of Requirements and then make a hefty donation to Hogwarts to cover everything we take,” the immortal said with a wicked smile playing on his lips. “I have plenty of gold for that and you guys can contribute.”

Remus slightly deflated, knowing he really couldn’t add to whatever his rich friends could. Maybe he could offer his services to help sort everything.

“We could set it up as a scholarship,” Lily suggested, thinking of all the families they could help.

“That is a brilliant idea,” Hydrus said with a bright smile.

“What’s the Room of Requirements?” Sirius asked, confused.

“Yeah, I thought we knew every part of the castle and I don’t remember a room by that name,” James added.

“Judging from the map, you guys did really well at uncovering most of the hidden rooms and passages, but the Room of Requirements won’t show on the map. Think of it as not being in this… reality… no… plane… well, it really exists alongside, yet within, the castle. It’s a space next to a space or something like that. Like a pocketspace, but it’s a room,” Hydrus tried to explain.

“So, like your crystals?” Lily asked, her brow furrowed in thought.

“Kinda, but with much more magic,” the immortal said. “You can only get there if you pace in front of a wall, on the seventh floor, across from the picture of the dancing trolls. When you pace you think of what you want and then a door will appear,” he explained. “It can be anything you want or need. But it’s mostly illusion, I mean, if you create something in the room, using what it provides for you, you can’t take it out of the room. However, there is a sort of Lost and Found there. The house elves store everything not claimed. It’s huge.”

The other adults all looked at each other, shrugged and then back at Hydrus. They had no idea what he was talking about.

When he saw their confused faces he added, “I’ll take you there next Hogsmeade weekend. We’ll clear it out and then sort through it, but we’re going to need the house elves’ help,” he suggested, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

He already had everything in his pocketspace, but to have this timeline’s stuff be showcased would be good. He’d have to empty his space and clear it out of duplicates. Maybe use one of the safety deposit boxes.

“Well, seeing how it is Friday, I need to get to work,” Lily said as she gathered up Harry and turned to Hydrus. “Are you going to the Mall? I could use a ride.” She started putting toys in her pocketspace.

“Yeah, I’ll drop you off, but we really need to get you guys a car.” He pointed to James and Remus. “Those CCTV cameras will be up sooner than you think, so Apparating will have to stop or at least be more discrete. James, when are you going to tell the Wizengamot about them and the satellites?” Hydrus asked as he stood and went to the door and put on his coat.

“Right, I forgot about them,” James said thoughtfully. “When Smeller gets into office, which should be sometime next week, I’ll talk to him about them. Do we have any proof they’ll be putting them up?” he asked as he too got ready for his day.

“I’ll get you some tonight,” Hydrus offered, thinking he could hack the computers and print out the bill. He did wonder if he could get images off the military satellites to prove they could see everything. “Come on, Lily, I’ll get you to work.”

The next day James and Remus went to get cars. Remus finally paid back Hydrus and now had enough money to get a small car. They went to the Audi dealership and James bought an Audi 5000 and Remus got an Audi Metro. They were both quite happy with their purchases and thankful that Lily had taken the time to make them learn to drive and get licenses.

They drove them to the Potter home and everyone congratulated them on their selection, though Sirius asked, “Why didn’t you shop around more?”

“Well, we got to the dealership and saw these two and they were within our price range, so we figured, why take more time away from the family when they were right there,” James explained, knowing Sirius was wondering why he didn’t get a sports car like his.

“This one is just what I need, room for four, if I have to drive my employees home, and economical,” was Remus’s answer.

**Hphphp**

The next week flew by in a slew of parties and business. The reason they partied was Smeller getting into office and Hydrus advertising his credit union. The party for Smeller was large; all of the Wizengamot were there as well as many of the well-wishers. It went on well into the night and everyone went home tired, but happy about the outcome of the election. With Crouch out of the picture it was an easy victory, but a win nonetheless.

There was now a table in front of the ‘bank’ that had the pamphlets and applications. There was a warning not to empty vaults until you knew you had been accepted. There were guidelines of who could and who couldn’t open an account, with reasons stated for the restrictions. Right now, the only people who could get an account were those that had jobs, so Sirius had to get a part-time job at Fun For All Pranks, which he didn’t mind. James was hired on at Lily’s Book Corner. Remus’s store was his job.

Independently wealthy people, who were not employed, couldn’t get an account. The Wizengamot wasn’t considered a job, since they only worked when called and had no set hours. While that is a job per se, it isn’t enough to be considered secure income. There was much complaining about that, but the rules of the Black Credit Union were clear. It was one of the things that set it apart from a bank, which took everyone.

The goblins sent representatives to Mr. Jasper demanding that the credit union be closed. He told them they were not breaking the word of the treaty and were within the law. They threatened to take him and his client to court and he politely smiled and said, “Go for it.” They left in a huff, with threats being thrown as they made their way out the door.

More representatives were sent to the Wizengamot demanding the law be changed, but Smeller stated that they weren’t going to change laws just because a loophole had been found in the treaty. He told them that if they rioted they would be met with deadly force. He had already upped the funds for the DMLE and told them to start training in case the goblins revolted.

Tensions were high and the customer service at Gringotts got worse. More and more magicals were thinking of taking their money out of the bank and either storing it in their home or going abroad. The few that were accepted into Black Credit Union pulled their money out quickly and never looked back. The goblins didn’t realize they were the sole cause of their plight. If they hadn’t reacted violently then more people would have kept their vaults.

Hydrus ignored it all and went about his business. He still had entertainment places to open in Diagon Alley and he wasn’t going to let the goblins stem his creativity. The buildings were rezoned for both business and residential. So the business was on the ground floor while flats were open on top.

The apartments were filling up quickly since they were reasonably priced. Many couples or small families were happy to be back in the magical world.

He and Lily opened a bowling alley and an ice-skating rink.

There was one building that was one bedroom and studios, which Rita promptly rented one of.

The appliance and video stores were overrun with customers wanting to outfit the new flats with the modern day wares. TVs, VCRs, movies and other entertainment items quickly flew off the selves. The newer refrigerators also were snatched up. Microwaves and stoves were bought. The dishwashers were considered Merlin sent and also were hastily purchased.

Lily opened a low cost daycare in Diagon Alley. It was a medium sized building, with areas for book reading, naps, eating and playing. An educational area was simply a large table with a hole in the middle for crayons, where the children would learn their alphabet, numbers and how to spell their name.

There were pamphlets displayed to show the non-magical schools in the area. They showed how to get the paperwork, how to enroll your child and what was needed in terms of clothes and school supplies. There were even some pre-schools listed, though those weren’t free. Many people took these booklets and were thinking of the benefits of not having to home school their children. Then maybe they could work outside the home, with so many businesses opening there was plenty of jobs for the mums. A few of the women already worked here at the daycare.

Hydrus had gotten the proof they needed to convince Smeller that non-magicals were very close to revealing the magical world. James and Sirius were taking it up with the Wizengamot. After much yelling and denial, they set up a committee to see what could be done. Sirius was part of that group and he would use Hydrus’s… past… future—whatever, memories to help them.

**Hphphp**

It was the first Hogsmeade weekend after the Christmas break and Hydrus, Sirius, Remus and James were sneaking into the castle. Dumbledore wasn’t present; he was actually at the ICW to tell them about the CCTV cameras, so other countries didn’t get caught flatfooted. And like last time he was also encouraging them to open orphanages and daycares. So the three men were free and clear to get to the ROR, they each had a map and an invisibility cloak to ensure that they weren’t caught. They made their way to the blank wall and Hydrus paced and called up the Room of Hidden Things.

“Wow, how could we not know this was here?” Sirius asked when he saw the room full of junk and treasure. His hands itched and his mind whirled about what could be found in those heaps of junk.

“I don’t know,” James answered in a whisper. He too was going over the many things that were hidden in this marvelous room. 

“To think of all of the missed opportunities,” Remus stated, looking at all the gizmos scattered around the room. His arms jerked thinking about claiming all the books, though he knew they would not be his.

“You never asked the house elves,” was Hydrus’s smug reply. “Well, let’s get this empty and we can get out of here. I don’t want to be here if Dumbledore gets back.” He started loading up things in his pocketspace.

The three younger men nodded in agreement and they made quick work of emptying it and hastened out of the castle. They popped back to Hydrus’s home and were now standing in his back garden. Tippy, Dobby and Kreacher were there as well.

“This is going to take a while. Probably about a month if we only do it in a few hours at a time, but trust me it will be well worth it in the end,” Hydrus said, as he emptied part of his pocketspace. “Tippy, Dobby, I need you guys to banish all the junk that can’t be fixed. Kreacher, Remus, you get all the books that are in good shape together and put aside any diaries you find. We might try and find the families, if not they can go into the museum. Sirius, you gather all the Dark stuff and put it in this Mokeskin pouch. James, you and me are going to go through the rest and see what can be showcased,” he rattled off orders, which the others jumped to.

They worked for hours and got only a small portion of the pile done, but they couldn’t afford to stay longer as they all had places they had to be. So Hydrus told the house elves to work on it in their spare time, and since the Potters and he tended to clean up after themselves, the elves had plenty of free time, much to their disapproval.

Hydrus went to the mall and closed off another storefront near Fun For All Gizmos. People were looking at it and gossip started on what the elder Black was up to now. They were already excited over the credit union and there was talk of more opening. There was even mention of something called a Savings and Loan, which wasn’t as restrictive as a Credit Union. More of the Diagon Alley storefronts were being bought to house these endeavors. Even though there were many that were worried if the goblins took up arms, more and more of them were ready to fight for their rights to keep their gold where they wanted.

**Hphphp**

A few weeks later, the Potter/Black scholarship was funded with a very large sum. It was such a big scholarship that it could put all the Weasleys through school for all seven years and then some. It was set up for lower income magicals, be they born to wizards or not, the only requirement, besides gross income, was that grades must be maintained to an average or above level. The Weasleys were ecstatic, though they were doing well they still had to watch their money. With seven kids to feed and an old house to maintain, they pinched every Knut. Many applications were filled out the day it was announced.

Within those weeks, the Diagon Alley Museum was opened, since it really didn’t need that much construction. It opened were Madam Malkin’s used to be. The wards were the same intent wards that were on the orphanage, almost. If you meant harm to anyone, or anything, you would be in for a nasty shock. Hydrus made sure to post this in big bold letters on the top of the building, much like the warning on Gringotts, only without the rhyming. In big bold red letters the sign read:

**WARNING: Wards are in place to protect this building and all in it. This establishment is not responsible for any damage to those who try and harm anything or anyone within. Thieves you have been warned.**

The floor plan was simple; they just gutted the building, added a white marble floor with black outline and grey pathways, white walls, huge widows with the sunshine spell, glass cases and black marble pedestals. On the very back wall there was an enormous display of three of the Founders’ items and Merlin’s diary. There were placards explaining what each item was, where it originated and a fabricated story of how it was found.

The rest of the museum depicted lost articles of the Potters and the Blacks, diaries of former students of Hogwarts, some as old as the castle itself. The guide they hired was well versed in what each item was, what the diaries said, since they were written in old languages, and how everything was used in history.

They had returned a lot of the old diaries to families that were still around. Many people were overjoyed to get lost relics of their ancestors, now they could research their family history better and understand days gone by. History books started being sold to unravel the fairytales about those that were depicted as bad people in the past.

Applications were on display for if people wanted to showcase some of their artifacts. They had to be in good condition and a waiver had to be signed in case of theft. A history must accompany the item and it had to be verified.

The Black relicts were Dark and had bleak histories to them and many wondered why they were there. Hydrus, when asked in an interview, stated, “History isn’t all sunshine and roses. People needed to know there are two sides to every story and they can’t learn if they forget. So, we, James, Sirius and I, wanted to show both sides of history.”

The headline of The Times read:

**Lost History Found, Is What We Know Fact?**

The article that followed was about the museum and what was there. They told of the diaries of the students that talked about Hogwarts so many years ago. It went on to expound on the lost relics and told the story of the missing Founders’ items. The story of the Grey Lady and the Bloody Baron was also posted. There were hints in the article that maybe some of the old classes should be brought back. It was a good piece.

The Daily Prophet ran the headline:

**Hydrus Black, Collector or Thief?**

This article all but accused Hydrus of robbing Gringotts, where they stated all these ‘lost items’ were kept. They couldn’t prove it and the goblins weren’t talking. As much as they wanted to accuse that man of stealing from them, they didn’t want that black mark on the already failing bank. 

The Times rebutted, stating that the relicts were found on one of Mr. Black’s properties and he could prove it. The two papers fought back and forth for days, until Sirius leaked the news about the CCTV cameras, now there was a bigger debate. Rita was having a field day. Since her report on Crouch Jr. she was top reporter.

The Minister came to the museum a week after it opened and asked Hydrus about where he found the lost items.

“I found them in a locked room,” was his answer.

“A locked room? Where?” Smeller asked as he folded his hands across his belly. He was a stocky middle aged man, with a slight bulging tummy. Not quite fat, but he was getting there. His calm demeanor was a whole lot better than Fudge’s and Crouch’s. You could tell he was simply curious and not demeaning.

“Well, I was looking in one of the Death Eaters mansions that I purchased, the Lestranges’. I was going to change it into a bed and breakfast for muggles, but I had to clear out all the magical stuff and get it up to non-magical code. So, I was exploring and found this room, which I believe was a storage room for the Dark Lord, and there it all was. I have no idea where he found it all,” he lied.

It was a story they had come up with, blame it all on Riddle, which in part was true. The man had found the Founders’ items. Hydrus had actually purchased the Lestrange manor, when Sirius kicked them out of the family, so he had proof that it was now his.

“Why didn’t you turn it over to the Ministry?” Smeller asked with a tilt of his head. It would have been a great boon for his campaign if he was in on the story.

“Why would I do that? It was my stuff; I bought it fair and square. It’s not like I’m hoarding it. Everyone can now see what was there. If you want, I can share most the books and Dark stuff I found,” Hydrus compromised, knowing that though Smeller was a good man, he was a politician.

“You’ll hand all the Dark items to the Department of Mysteries?” was the inquiry.

“Sure, I don’t have any use for them. Give me a day to get them all put together and I’ll have my cousin, Sirius, drop them off.” He shrugged; it wasn’t any skin off his nose.

The next day, Sirius dropped two Mokeskin bags off at the Department of Mysteries with the comment for them to ‘have fun.’ They already sorted the books and all but the diaries were given to the Ministry. They had them all downloaded on their laptops anyway.

In all the time that passed, Mrs. Black wasn’t heard from. They could only hope that she dropped dead from her injuries. Crouch had also disappeared and many wondered if he had left the country, though his wife was still seen at St. Mungo’s for treatment. When asked, she told them that her husband was fine; he was just getting over his losses. Yaxley also disappeared and rumors were starting that Walburga was recruiting for a war.

“Hydrus,” Lily said tentatively, not wanting to sound accusatory, “do you know what happened to Yaxley?”

“Nope,” was his casual answer. And he didn’t, he had nothing to do with that disappearance.

“Oh, I was kinda hoping you did. Now we have no idea what he’s up to,” she stated, tucking her red hair behind her ear. They were sitting at a table in Lily’s café drinking tea and chatting.

“Well, I guess we’re going to have to find out,” Hydrus said, thinking of sending spirits on him. He was sure that man had killed, so there had to be some vengeful ghosts who would haunt him.

Vicky came to the table. “Hi, Hydrus,” she greeted and then turned to Lily. “Mrs. Potter, the espresso machine just arrived.”

“That’s wonderful,” Lily said with glee as she got up from the table to go and sign for the delivery. She would modify it to work in the café and soon everyone would be a coffee addict. At that thought, she clapped her hands together and rubbed them, all the while manically laughing, causing customers to look at her. She all but ran to the back of the shop to get it all set up.

Hydrus chuckled at her antics and invited Vicky to sit. “So, how are things going with you, Vicky?” he asked, with a friendly smile.

“Great,” she answered as she took the seat Lily vacated. “Valentine’s Day is coming soon and this place will be busy. Do you have plans for that day?”

“Nay, still single, but if you want, you, me, Sirius and Colette can go and catch a movie,” he offered in a friendly voice. “As friends, mind you, just a bunch of mates hanging out,” he cautioned.

“That sounds great. I was worried that I would be spending the night alone. Let me go and ask Colette and you ask Sirius,” Vicky said, getting up from the table.

Hydrus chuckled and then got up to pay his bill. He went to Fun For All Pranks and asked Sirius if he wanted to go with them to the movies.

“Well, I was trying to decide who I wanted to go out with that night, but that sounds like fun. Maybe, I can get to know Colette better,” Sirius said, rubbing his goatee. He had been debating on whether to ask her or Laura out on a date, but a casual night with friends sounded better.


	17. Bonding and Pranks

A few days before Valentine’s Day, Lily approached the table Hydrus was sitting at. She had to wonder with all that was going on how the older man had time to eat here every day.

“Hello, Hydrus,” she said as she joined him. “What are you going to be doing today?”

“Well, let’s see, I have to see about the debit cards for the credit union and there are some applications for the museum that I have to go over. Arthur needs me to help with a trinket he’s designing. Then I have to head to the Ministry to talk to Smeller about the non-magical Prime Minister, since I personally know him. Then I need to do some shopping, but I suppose that could be put off another day. It seems that I’ve got a pretty tight schedule today. Why do you ask?” he rattled off, putting up a finger for each item.

Now that he thought about it, it was a busy day like most of his days. It had been ages since he and the guys simply sat and killed pixel people. Then again, everyone was busy these days and had little time for games.

Sirius and James were still politicking and trying to get the old men in the Wizengamot to understand that if they didn’t tighten the laws for everyone, including pure-bloods, then the Statute of Secrecies would be blown completely out of the water. That and they both had part-time jobs at the mall, so they could be part of the credit union. They would be able to give them up soon if they wanted, since it wasn’t a rule that they had to maintain employment as long as they didn’t go in the red.

Lily and Remus were busy with their bookstores, which were both doing major business. And Lily had Harry, though everyone helped her with him, making them all busy with the toddler. So Hydrus guessed he wasn’t the only one run off his heels. 

“I hate that you spread yourself so thin,” she said, putting her hand on his and breaking him away from his thoughts. “Didn’t you hire someone to look at the applications? Why do you have to talk to the Minister? Doesn’t he have a portrait or something in the PM’s office? I can see your point about the debit cards and the trinket though,” she expressed her concern.

Hydrus hummed and took a sip of his pumpkin pie flavored latte. “You may be right, I should delegate more. I’m just used to busy days. I have no idea what I’d do with myself if I had time off.” He shrugged and took another sip.

“You know I am. Relax a bit. You’ve been running around since I met you. First the war, now business. You need to take some down time,” she stated firmly. “Besides, now that we are accepting pound sterling, business is booming. The debit cards would be bonus, but they aren’t needed at this time. I’m sure you can put it off for later.”

“I will, I promise. I’m glad that the Mall worked around the money issue. The credit union is better for it, since we don’t have to do as much conversion,” he added. “Now if we could only get the rest of the Alleys to do that.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” she said doubtfully, and then got back to why she came over. “I have an idea, how about we go to the zoo, just you, me, James and Harry. One day, outside, just us four as a family. I can leave the girls in charge and James only works weekends and holidays, so we can take time to be a family for a day,” Lily offered with a hopeful look in her green eyes.

“Wow, a family day. It’s been awhile since I had one of those. Grace and I used to take Harry and his friends to the zoo and theme parks all the time. It would be nice to take a day and relax.” He smiled at the fond memories. His memories of his past were dulling to nice, warm and fuzzy, like a comfy blanket, which made him more open to friendship in the now. He was actually looking forward to the movie.

“So how about Friday? It’s two days before Valentine’s Day, so the zoo will be mostly empty.” She all but bounced in her seat at the thought. They had been cooped up for so long and it will be nice to just have a day to relax.

“I think I can handle that. Let me delegate some things and I’ll make sure I have the whole day just for you guys.” He offered and gave the woman a smile.

“Great, I’ll let the girls know.” She got up and headed to the counter to talk to Vicky and Colette with a skip in her steps.

Hydrus grinned and shook his head at her excitement. He finished his latte and went about his day. He did tell the person he hired to look at the applications that he wouldn’t be available unless it was an object that had a Dark history. He reminded the young man that he trusted his judgment and so far he’d done a well enough job without him.

He gave Smeller all the knowledge he had on the PM and suggested that he get a phone and computer in his office for immediate communication. The new Minister thought that was a grand idea and started telling his secretary to set it up.

Arthur’s trinket was quickly sorted and now all he had to do was figure out how to use the debit cards. He worked on them for hours, and he got the cards to work, but he needed a way to get them accepted in the stores. He figured he’d start with the mall and then if they were a success here, like the non-magical money was, he’d branch it out to the Alleys.

**Hphphp**

February in London was biting cold, so the party bundled up and made use of warming charms. Harry was in his buggy and was excited to be outside. The poor tot had only been at the house and the daycare and he was getting restless. The adults were also suffering from lack of outdoor activities, but such is the price to pay when living where the winter was so cold. They all took Hydrus’s Mercedes and made good time to the zoo, since traffic was sparse.

The zoo was empty-ish; there weren’t many families willing to fight the freezing temperatures of London’s winter and it was a weekday. So the Potters and Hydrus pretty much had the place to their selves. They took in the animals, which were mostly sitting under shelters and not really doing anything. They listened to the guides and learned how the inhabitants of the zoo fared in the winter. They made sure to get some hot cocoa and roasted chestnuts. Harry got the cocoa, but they decided he was a bit too young for nuts, but, Lily, always prepared, handed him a teething biscuit.

“Well this didn’t work out like I wanted,” Lily sighed as she looked around the empty zoo and was a bit upset that the animals weren’t out to see.

“I have an idea, let’s go to Trafalgar Square and watch them celebrate the Chinese New Year,” Hydrus offered. He and Grace went many times in the past, future, whatever, and they always enjoyed the sights. The colorful decorations, the different music, the wonderful food and loud firecrackers always made for a good experience.

“What is the Chinese New Year? Didn’t the New Year already pass?” James asked, confused. He was never one to venture outside the Wizarding World, since he mostly stuck to Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.

“Well, they really didn’t go by our calendar at one time, so they celebrate the New Year by their old one. It’s only been in modern times that they now coincide with us,” Hydrus explained as he led them out of the zoo. “I think this is the Year of the Dog,” he added, rubbing his head. “Come on, they’ll have books and stuff so you can read about it,” he said at the confused looks, not wanting to explain the Chinese zodiac.

They headed for the gate and got in the car. Hydrus drove them close to the area that was roped off for the parade and activities. The many clashes of bright colors were vibrant and Lily and James looked around with awe. Harry clapped with glee at all the funny looking people in their colorful costumes. There were paper lanterns, ribbons of all colors, food stands and exhibits. The parade had just started and they got a good spot near the front. Hydrus picked Harry up, and put him on his shoulders so he could watch the floats go by. Thank Merlin for warming charms.

Little Harry squealed at the dragon float and clapped his little hands at the performers. When the parade was over and the acrobats and other performers started their shows, the family took time to watch each one and got some food, which Lily had to admit it was better than takeout.

Hydrus made sure to purchase some books on what the Chinese New Year was and how it was celebrated. They spent hours talking, laughing, eating and watching the shows. The firework display was awesome and lit up the whole sky with creative designs. It was a happy family that went home that night, tired, but content.

“We’ll have to do that again next year. We’ll take the uncles along; I think they’ll enjoy that. Don’t tell Sirius, but I got some of those fireworks. I want to surprise him,” James said as he sat in his seat on the sofa.

Hydrus chuckled and told him about the awesome fireworks the Weasley twins had done in both timelines and the two men talked about them while the missus put down the tot.

Lily came down the stairs, after putting a very tired, yet bouncing Harry down for the night. It was earlier than his normal bedtime, and he would be up early in the morning, but he was half asleep when they got home.

“That was great fun, Hydrus. Thanks for suggesting it,” she said, putting her feet on James lap. “We’ll have to do the zoo in the summer.”

“Not a problem, it was good to get out.” He had settled in his chair and was content to be around the Potters without having to discuss anything but the day out. “I also know some theme parks that have kiddie rides, so if you want, we can do that as well. You’re right Lily, I need to take more time off. I forget sometimes that we humans need breaks.”

“Oh, theme parks,” Lily let out a girlish squeal. “Oh, James we have to do that.” she then proceeded to explain to the pure-blood wizard what a theme park was, with Hydrus adding descriptions of the ones from the future.

James nodded in all the right places, but to tell the truth, he was a bit lost. That and those rides sounded as bad as the cart rides in Gringotts.

“Hydrus, speaking of taking days off, I know you’re a busy man, but do you want to go… what is it non-magical fathers and sons do… oh yeah, fishing or play golf or something,” the younger man asked, after they sat silently for a while.

He had been thinking about it for a while. He and Hydrus never really bonded the way the older man and Lily had.

Hydrus lifted he eyebrow at that suggestion. It was an interesting idea, but to call it a father and son outing was strange. He was older than James.

“Not that you have to think of me as a father, but I’d like to get to know you better,” James said quickly, not wanting the time traveler to think he was trying to replace the man who gave up his life for him.

“Well, I find fishing boring, but I’d love to teach you how to play golf,” the immortal said. It would be nice to take more days off and get to know Harry’s dad, perhaps it would give him insight on how his dad would be if he had lived, it might be fun. “Besides,” he smiled warmly, “while I don’t think of you as my dad, I do consider you family.”

“I can do family,” James nodded a bit disappointed but understanding.

The two Potters and Hydrus spent the rest of the day just bonding. Mostly over the good times they had at Hogwarts, since it was one of the few things they had in common, besides war, and they didn’t want to bring down the day by talking about that.

**Hphphp**

Valentine’s Day came and the small group went to the movies. They watched _Poltergeist,_ much to the entertainment of the men, not so much the women. They then went to a small café and had coffee and afters. They talked about the movie, and the girls said they didn’t like it because it was just too unrealistic. Sirius and Hydrus had to concede the point, since they both knew Peeves.

Vicky and Hydrus decided to take a walk after their dessert. Sirius and Colette were happy to leave them to their own devices. If the sly looks and giggling were anything to go by, then they would be making their own entertainment.

“So, sorry, you didn’t enjoy the movie,” Hydrus said as he pushed his hands in his jacket pockets. They were taking in the sights as they walked the lamp lit streets of London.

“It’s not so much that it was scary, it’s just they got so many facts wrong,” Vicky said, looking around, but not really paying attention to what she was seeing.

Some businesses were open, and others were closed. There was a tattoo parlor just off the side that seemed to be attracting a lot of young people. She never had the desire to get one, but always admired the art.

“I understand that, but for a non-magical movie it as still not bad,” he argued, drawing her from her perusal.

Vicky shook her head; she had never been one to enjoy misinformation in the form of media. “I disagree; someone should tell them the truth. If it can be done without giving up the secret. Point, I’ve never seen a poltergeist that could possess anyone. Can you imagine if that were so? I’ve heard of your Peeves and find it quite scary to think of him possessing anyone.” She gave a full body shudder.

“Right, I find that part funny, to tell the truth. I mean, they have some pretty wild ideas about what poltergeists are, how they’re formed and what they can do.” He chuckled internally at the image of Peeves possessing one of the Weasley twins, oh the havoc they would create. “It’s only Hollywood, they never get anything right. Can you image if they did? We’d be hunted down by every government agency in the world.”

“I guess,” she said slowly at that. That was the fear of her family and she, for one, never wanted to wind up in a lab. The conversation trailed off for a few minutes. “So, do you think you’re going to get your debit cards up and running soon?”

“I’ve almost got them going,” he shrugged and searched for another topic. Just about anything he said could be taken as romantic. He wanted to talk about the scenery, but that could be misconstrued as a gesture of a romantic walk at midnight.

Vicky not liking the silence said, “There’s something I have to tell you that I think will make you more comfortable with me.” She hated the fact that this was so awkward; maybe if she told him the truth then he would be more open to her. Her parents were going to kill her, but she was three hundred years old, or so, and it was her secret to tell or not.

“Oh,” was the inquiring reply. He looked her way and saw that she was serious.

“Yeah, let’s grab a bench at the park and I’ll let you in on a little secret,” she said, pointing to a small park off to their right.

So, they walked to an open bench, threw up a silencing charm, sat quietly in the moonlight until Hydrus turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

“This is harder than I thought. I’ve kept this secret all my life,” she said with a blush. Then she blurted out, “I’m immortal.”

“How?” came the confused question. “I mean, I know you’re not a vampire, like Colette. So how are you immortal?” he asked, almost hopeful that he would have a friend for a long time, maybe something more, later, but a friend for now.

“Well, I need a vow. Not for me, but for my family,” she stated, looking him in the eyes and making him understand that it was important. She would never give up her family. Who knew what would happen if it were ever discovered that the Stone would help create immortals. Her parents were sought enough as it was.

“I can do that,” he replied, completely understanding. He took a quick vow to not reveal anything they discussed since they sat on the bench.

“My name is Victoria Flamel,” Vicky said, thankful for his vow. She searched his face for his reaction and only saw wonder.

“Oh, well, that explains it. Are you like your parents? I know for a fact they can die,” he wondered, remembering them dying in his first timeline, but she said she was an immortal and the Flamels aren’t.

“No, I’m a true immortal,” she answered, pulling her hair away from her face. “My brother and I were born this way, which is why you needed to take the vow. There are many government agencies that would love to get their hands on us. I know all the secrets to looking like I’ve aged and creating a new life.”

“If it makes you feel better, I’m a true immortal as well,” Hydrus said softly, hoping to ease her tension.

“I know.”

“How? I know no one told you, they’d be dead.” He went over that thought in his head as to who would have told her. His first thought was Remus, but the quiet man didn’t know Vicky well, so he ruled it out. Then he sighed and figured it was Lily, doing what women do. He would forgive her, but he didn’t like the fact that someone had spilled his secrets.

“Lily,” she said, confirming his suspicion. “But she didn’t tell us who was immortal, just that she knew one. All she told my parents was that the immortal was male and that she knew him and wanted him to have a good life,” was the kind reply. She looked at the man in front of her, hoping to stave off an explosion. “I thought I put together the clues rather well,” she said trying to lighten the mood.

“Damn,” Hydrus swore softly, now, he couldn’t be mad, since she only had good intentions and technically didn’t break the vow. He might have to reword that in the future.

“She is really worried about you,” Vicky offered, putting her hand on his shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

“I guess I understand that,” Hydrus conceded. She was a woman and a mum, after all. Now all he had to do was not lead this poor woman on. “Even though we are both immortal, I still feel this isn’t the right time for romance, perhaps later, in a year or two. Like I said before, I can always use a friend.” He patted the hand on his shoulder then gently removed it, after giving it a returning squeeze.

“I know, and we are friends. As long as you don’t hold it against me that I will hope for something more in the future,” she answered with a smile, she had the time and so did he.

“I won’t,” he said softly.

“Good. Until then, we can do these outings from time to time. Get to know each other better, and see where it goes later,” she suggested quietly, making sure to keep her tone friendly and not hopeful.

“Yeah, I can do that. I had fun,” he replied, fidgeting a bit. “Well, it is getting late; shall we find our wayward couple and head home?” he suggested, getting up from the bench and holding out his arm as if to escort her.

“Let’s,” Vicky answered with a small giggle as she put her hand in his elbow.

The two set off to find Sirius and Colette. They found them snogging on a bench not far from where they had been.

“Sirius, if you want a ride home, we’re leaving now,” the older Black stated as he kicked the younger Black’s foot, getting the man’s attention. He did wonder if Colette told Sirius about her vampirism. Oh, well, it was her secret to tell, unless she threatened him in anyway.

“Wh… huh? Oh, hey, yeah, let’s go. If you drive me to my flat, I’ll make sure that the lovely Colette makes it home,” the younger Black stated, coming out of his dazed state. If he had to say anything, the woman in his arms was one hell of a kisser, like she had been practicing for a very long time.

“Come on, Romeo, let’s get you home.” And with that, the time traveler made sure everyone was secure for the night.

It had been a good evening.

**Hphphp**

The Black Credit Union had been open for two weeks, when the goblins rebelled. They closed the doors to Gringotts and turned away all humans. The public took great offence to this and stormed the building; however, they couldn’t get through the wards.

The Aurors were called, but they too were stuck outside the huge white building.

The goblins took up arms and stood outside the bank to repel any protestors. They didn’t out and out attack anyone, but people were ready for them if they tried. Right now it was at a standstill, people couldn’t get their money and the goblins didn’t get their demands.

The rumors flew that there would be an all-out war, and people were arming themselves with spells used in the last rebellion. Smeller was calling for the Aurors to patrol the streets of the Alleys and he posted guards at the Marauders’ Mall, just outside the wards.

The Times reported that there was a cessation at the moment, but to be wary. They did state that the goblins were quoted as saying that it was ‘the opening of the Black Credit Union that made us shut our doors’, but the article pointed out that Mr. Black had not broken the treaty, and it made an effort to make the public understand why monopolies were a bad thing. It was a really good article, and people were eating it up.

They had been raised with Binns as a history teacher after all, and those lessons showed that the goblins would rebel at any slight.

The Prophet blamed Hydrus for the uprising, stating that if he hadn’t opened his ‘bank’ none of this would have happened, which was true, but the immortal didn’t care what the rag said and it seemed the public was of the same opinion.

Three days later, Hydrus, after reading The Times, snuck down the Alley, under his Cloak, used his blast gun and dropped those formidable wards. Alarms sounded and the wizards converged on the surprised goblins and demanded they be let into their vaults, thus ending the rebellion before it really got started.

The goblins had to do some quick dealings to make sure Gringotts didn’t get their doors closed forever. They added some interest for the vaults and gave discounts to the large ones. They did their best to make sure that they had something to offer. Some of the services that had fallen to the wayside, were once again brushed off and utilized. Like low interest loan offers, and heritage test. These were services that the Credit Union could not provide. At least not yet.

Many wizards decided since there had been no bloodshed then they would keep their gold there for now, though many others pulled theirs, just to be safe. No one liked the fact that this bank could just simply shut them out at the slightest transgression.

The Wizengamot made sure to send a committee to make another treaty, so that the goblins could be mollified. However, there would be no monopoly.

**Hphphp**

No one had heard from Mrs. Black, and Hydrus was hoping she dropped dead from her wound. He did call upon the ghosts about Yaxley and found the man had died. When he called Yaxley’s ghost to him, the ghost told him that he had been taken by surprise and had no idea who got him. This made the Master of Death very wary. If Walburga, or whoever she was working with, was starting on the lower cousins, that didn’t bode well, especially since he was considered the lowest of the low.

He tried to call Crouch as well, but he wasn’t dead. He also called Arcturus to see if Walburga was dying, but the ghost said he hadn’t seen her.

Rita couldn’t find Crouch, he simply disappeared. His wife passed away in the hospital, never once giving up her husband’s location.

Tom Riddle faded away, much to everyone’s relief. They celebrated long and hard that night, though the next day they realized that they still had to deal with Mrs. Black. And Hydrus was reminded that he still needed to let someone Light die, but he had no idea who or how. He’d fight to save anyone, it was in his nature.

**Hphphp**

Weeks went by and Hydrus’s new store opened. It was a potions/chemist shop with all of the modified potions he had brought back from the future. He was selling the Dark curse cream, Wolfsbane and many other ailment remedies. He made sure that St. Mungo’s had the recipes and that they got discounts on the ingredients. He made quite a profit the first week he opened. He made sure his employees had medical backgrounds. Most of them were retired Healers.

At long last, they found a Muggle-born that could open a McDonald’s, since he was still integrated with the non-magical world. Harry loved the happy meals, and James and Sirius were becoming addicted to the Big Macs. Remus on the other hand didn’t touch any of the processed meat, liking his beef fresh. Lily was ecstatic that she could now get diet soda. It wasn’t a big hit, at this time, but it was gaining business by the day. Hydrus was hopeful that all fast-food chains could be opened soon, so people had variety. He was looking forward to a fried chicken place.

Soon the movies would start production and theaters would be open in Diagon Alley, which wasn’t the ghost town it had been in December. No, now the flats were full and entertainment places were open. The ice-skating rink and the arcade were big hits. The daycare was full to capacity and more and more mothers were taking jobs outside the home. The economy was rising each day.

Now Hydrus could relax a bit. He had done what he had come here to do. It was only Death’s warning that he would be fighting for a long time that made him a bit down. He had taken up sparring with the Marauders, though Remus declined, stating that he was too strong for the other men.

So, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday the three men would take a two-hour break in the evening and try and beat each other to a pulp. It was actually very relaxing.

**Hphphp**

It had been a nightmare the day that damn book hit the shelves. People came out of the woodwork, and no matter how much she protested they wouldn’t let up. Lily’s café was overrun with admirers demanding that she sign the book. She actually had to run from her own business, leaving Vicky and Colette to handle the crowd.

While it was good business, and sales went through the roof, the fact that she could get nothing done made her go home. When she got to the house and told the men what happened, it didn’t help. Damn males and their warped sense of humor. They all laughed at her plight, until she hit each and every one of them about the head.

The story came out of nowhere, and no one expected it, though Hydrus really should have. It was called ‘The Witch-Who-Vanquished and the Banshees’. The story went that Lily had gone to a village in Ireland and sang the banshees into leaving. The vengeful spirits ran from her beautiful voice and were gone in minutes. It was a stupid, incredibly silly children’s story, but people seemed to believe it. Lily tried to sing for the masses to show she didn’t have a lovely singing voice, but they waved it away.

“How did this happen?” the poor woman moaned the morning after the book came out, holding her head in her hands. “I thought we made sure that no one could do this. Isn’t that what the solicitors are for?” she asked Hydrus, who was in charge of legal matters. She raised her head and glared at the mirthful look on his face.

They were all sitting in the living room of the Potters’ cottage. The men were in their favorite seats, Lily was next to James, and Harry was playing with his giggling bunny in his playpen, which wasn’t helping his mum’s nerves. The men had been making fun of her all night and she was getting snappy at them.

Hydrus chuckled and said in a reassuring voice, “Don’t worry, they’re looking into it right now.” He had been on the phone with them for hours the day before. They told him that they would sue the person who wrote it. He had made sure to tell them about Lockhart and his penance for making things up, since he knew Rita was on a leash, so to speak.

“Still, I have to face the public soon, and I don’t want to fight off all those people who want autographs,” the redhead complained.

Hydrus was still trying to hold back a full-blown fit of laughter. He knew that those people could be overbearing.

“Try and take it in stride,” he offered, patting her hand. “It will blow over.” He knew well enough that it only took a small bit from a reputable newspaper to calm the storm and he already had Skeeter investigating.

“Yeah, but…”

“Don’t worry, Lily,” James said with a smirk. “Sirius and I are already hunting down the author. Hydrus said it’s probably that overgrown peacock Lockhart. We’ll get him back if it is.” He put an arm around her shoulder and tried to comfort her, but his chuckling negated the effort.

“This isn’t funny,” she snapped, slapping him on the chest and glaring at all the other men. “Hydrus, you should know how it feels,” she turned on the immortal. “How can you be laughing?” she snarled.

“Oh, I do,” he said, with a wave of his hand, and added, “but think of it this way, at least it wasn’t bad.”

“Right, there is that,” she calmed a bit, remembering all the bad press Hydrus had when he was Harry. “Oh Merlin, the post is going to start up again,” she moaned.

“We’ll set it up like last time. Lily, you really have to calm down,” James said, squeezing her shoulders.

“Right, right, calm,” was the mumbled answer.

“Let’s focus on something else,” the time traveler said with a sadistic grin, rubbing his hands together and getting everyone’s attention.

“I’m not sure I like that look in your eyes,” the only woman stated, giving him the hairy eyeball. It was the same look the Marauders would get right before they got into mischief. She hated that look when she was Head Girl, it always meant trouble.

“Well, you are probably thinking on the right track,” he said with a wicked grin. “I was thinking we could have some fun. I have some plans for Marge and Vernon Dursley.”

“I thought you were going to leave the Dursleys alone,” Sirius said questioningly.

“No, I’m going to leave Petunia and Dudley alone, but Marge and Vernon, well they are not nice people. I think we need to take them down a peg or two,” Hydrus said.

He smirked and pulled some notes from his space. While he didn’t do anything to Vernon in his last timeline, he had heard from his investigators that the man was still a bully and took his anger out on his co-workers. Dudley had actually grown into a good man, while Petunia never veered from a gossiping housewife. Marge was the sadistic bitch she always was, what she does to animals is cruel. He was glad he took her down early last time, and had no problem doing it again.

That made all three Marauders perk up, but Lily was still glaring, though it was taking her mind off that damn book.

“What did you have in mind? And is it illegal?” Remus asked, hoping this was not something that was going to cause trouble. Being a werewolf made him edgy about pranking non-magical people. If he was caught then it could be bad for him. While James and Sirius had stopped most of the more biased laws there were still some in the books, that and Crouch was still lurking about.

“Don’t worry, it’s not too illegal and we would only get in trouble if we’re caught,” the immortal waved his concern away. Though Muggle-baiting was still frowned upon, he had no intentions of actually hurting the two. He handed the notes to James, who looked them over and got a twinkle in his eyes. He then passed them to the other two men and they also got excited.

Vernon’s punishment was easy. Marge’s was going to take some planning. The four men put their heads together and came up with ideas. Lily huffed and stayed out of it, opting to take care of Harry instead.

**Hphphp**

That afternoon they went to Vernon’s place of work, dressed in fine non-magical suits, and stated they wanted to see the man. The secretary saw how they were kitted out and went to her boss’ office. She told him some rich clients wanted to talk to him and he puffed up importantly and demanded they be shown in.

“What can I do for you fine gentlemen this afternoon?” the fat pompous man asked with a greedy glint in his eyes as he too took in their fine clothes. He would get a bonus if they bought drills from him. Then he could buy that vacation home in the Caribbean. His wife would be pleased by his evaluated of status.

“Oh, it’s not what you can do for us, it’s what we can do for you,” Hydrus said whipping out his holly wand, waving it about the room, putting up a silencing charm and then pointing it at the man. “We’re going to make you a nicer person.”

“Oh my god, you’re freaks!” the fat man bellowed rising from his chair. Petunia had told him all about her freaky sister. “Stacy,” he tried to call his secretary.

“Sit down, fatso,” Sirius said, taking his own wand out, they really only needed one, but they wanted to intimidate him before they did the spell.

Vernon thumped back in his chair, making it creak, and glared at them with eyes full of hate. “What do you want, freaks? I’ve done nothing to you,” he demanded, very confused as to why he was being targeted.

“You’re right, you haven’t done anything to us, but we know you’re a right bastard to the people you work with,” James said, straightening up his tie and leaving his wand where is rested in the pocket of his black suit jacket.

“How could you possibly know that? What business is it of yours anyway?” the now sweating man asked.

“Well, we just don’t like bullies,” Hydrus offered with a shrug.

“Let's just get this over with,” Remus stated, not wanting to be here for long.

“Right, Vernon Dursley, you are going to dream every night about the abuse you foist off on other people. You will feel how they felt, and you will understand that what you are doing is wrong,” the immortal said with a knowing grin.

He then took his wand and cast the spell and changed the man’s memories. He would remember offering a contract, but they decided to investigate other offers. Hydrus made sure there was no magical signature and he and Sirius tucked away their wands and smiled.

Mr. Dursley’s face went lax, and then he grinned and said, “It was great doing business with you, gentlemen, and I hope you will find my offer is the best.” He got up and shook all of their hands and gave them his card.

“Of course, Vernon, ole chap, we will make sure to get the best deal and yours is good,” James said, slapping the man on the back, perhaps a little too hard.

The four men left. Hydrus would keep an eye on the man to make sure he changed his ways.

“So when are we going to get the sister?” Padfoot asked, bouncing down the stairs and out of the building.

“Oh, tonight I think,” Hydrus said, grinning at the overly excited man. Sometimes Sirius was like an overgrown kid.

That night they snuck down Marge’s street. They went to her house and gently opened the gate. The dogs started barking and they let them, hoping to wake up the vile woman. They cast a silencing charm as to not wake the neighbors.

Lights went on in the house and Marge was yelling at the dogs. “Shut up, you mangy beasts, I already have complaints! Why can’t you be like my dear Ripper!?” she bellowed from the window. Then she saw the four men and started screaming at them. “Intruders! I have a gun!” she threatened and disappeared from the window.

“Everyone, get into place,” Hydrus said and they dispersed. The immortal went to the door and stood to the side. James and Remus went to the pens and started casting. Sirius changed into Padfoot and hid behind a tree.

When she came running out the door with a rolling pin, Hydrus grabbed the weapon and kicked her large arse, making her stumble into the back yard.

That was when Padfoot appeared and started snipping at her, making sure to only get her clothes.

The fat woman ran to the nearest tree, jumped and tried to grab a branch, but she couldn’t jump high enough. She ran around the tree screaming for Ripper to come and help her.

The little dog came from the house, took one look at Padfoot, whimpered and hightailed it back inside, tail tucked between his legs.

James and Remus were casting sterilization charms on pens and making sure it was anchored to the kennels and the fence surrounding the house. As long as this woman used these pens she would never breed dogs again. When they were done, they called Padfoot, took down the silencing charm and the four men quickly left, leaving a panting Marge behind. They had used the poly-watches so she would never be able to identify them.

The dogs were still barking and the lights started appearing from the other house. They all got under invisibility cloaks until they were out of sight.

“Won’t she kill the dogs, when they don’t breed?” Remus asked as he handed his watch back to Hydrus, worried about the canines.

“We’ll call the RSPCA… Royal Society for the prevention of Cruelty to Animals,” he said at the confused looks. “Anyway, I’ll call them and tell them that we heard her threaten to do that. Since the charm is on the house they will be okay once they are rescued,” Hydrus said, already going to a phone booth to put in the complaint. He just hoped they did investigate; he’d have his detectives keep an eye on her as well.


	18. Surprise Attack

A week went by and everything was going well, the furor about the book finally died, thanks to The Times reporting that it was fiction, and Lily could be seen in her café again. It was Lockhart and the lawyers hunted him down and sued the pants off of him, which was also reported.

James and Hydrus had their bonding moment, but instead of golf they went skeet shooting, which James thoroughly enjoyed.

“That was bloody awesome,” the younger man said as they walked to the car. “We have to do that again.”

He felt powerful with that shotgun in his hands. He could just imagine what one would do to a person, not that he ever wanted to find out. Playing the video games was one thing but seeing destruction firsthand was another.

“We can do that. You’re pretty good, for a beginner,” Hydrus said, clapping the all but skipping man on the back. James had hit half of the clay pigeons, which was damn good for a man who had never held a gun.

“We have to bring the guys,” Prongs begged with puppy dog eyes.

“We can do that too,” the older man stated, knowing that at least Sirius would like it. “I know, next time we can get the guys and get a game of paintball going,” he said as the idea came to him. He remembered all the fun his family and the two living Marauders had in the last timeline. Then he remembered what year it was and deflated a bit.

“What’s paintball?”

Hydrus spent the car ride explaining what paintball was and how it was played. It was mostly played in the States, but Hydrus figured he could open a field somewhere here and get that going. Plans formed in his head. He would have to import the equipment, but it was a minor problem and he had the money.

They drove home and told Lily about their day and then spent a quiet evening in front of the idiot box. Sirius was on a date and it was the full moon, so Remus was in Hydrus’ cellar.

Harry now knew all the body parts on his bunny and was just making it go off to see his dad’s face when it giggled. Yeah, he was the son of a Marauder.

A few more peaceful days passed when Arcturus came to Hydrus and told him that he could no longer spy for him. He appeared early one morning at the end of February and gave Hydrus his disheartening news.

“Wake up, Hydrus, there is something I need to tell you,” the ghost said, sticking his hand in the immortal’s chest, making the sleeping man bolt upright. “I can no longer follow Walburga,” he said after the time traveler stopped yelling.

“Why?” the Master of Death asked as he rubbed his chest, completely befuddled. As far as he knew you could keep them from a building, but not from a person.

“It appears that she has finally found a way to prevent apparitions from shadowing her. I can get her general location, but I cannot go to where she is. I know she’s on the continent, but not where,” the spirit explained snidely. He still blamed this man for his early death, and nothing would sway him of that notion. If Hydrus had not mucked around with time, then he would still be alive. Death even backed him on that.

“Shite,” Hydrus said absentmindedly as scenarios flew through his mind. _She must be feeling better if she harried off to another country. What could she possibly be doing there? How did she even get there?_ _Who healed her wound?_ _I’d better warn Marius,_ were the thoughts crowding his head.

“I have warned you time and time again to never underestimate a Black. She has already put three of the lower cousins in their graves. You would do well to heed my advice,” Arcturus argued as he pointed a long thin finger at the man he despised.

“I do take her seriously,” Hydrus snapped. “But I can’t fight her if I don’t know where she is. I really wish you’d get over yourself. If you had taken us up on the protections we offered, you would not be dead. I don’t give a buggering damn what Death says.” He hated fighting with this man, because he was partially right, but he was not going to put up with his accusations forever. He hoped this whole thing would blow over soon, so he could let this man rest in peace.

“Go, rest in peace. If I need you, I’ll call you again,” the immortal sighed and waved him away. He would never get the ghost to see his way. After Arcturus left, he called Marius. “Marius?” he asked when the phone was answered.

“Yeah, what do you want, Hydrus?” the gruff man asked. “Why are you calling so damn early in the morning?” he demanded.

“Sorry, but Mrs. Black is somehow healed and, on the move, again. I just wanted you to know, since you’re the one who shot her,” Hydrus said, not the least put off by the man’s manners. He had probably woken the man.

“Shite. Next time, I’m killing that bitch. Thanks,” and the phone went dead.

“Goodbye to you too,” the sleepy man grumbled and then he got dressed and went and told the Marauders that his spy said she was on the move, but he didn’t know what she was up to.

Lily and Harry were sleeping in, seems they both had a long day yesterday. Something about too much sugar from a birthday party of one of the kids at the daycare.

“That’s weird,” Sirius said, rubbing his goatee, “Mum _loathes_ France. She says they are all jumped-up froggies. Come to think of it, she loathes any foreign country. I can’t for the life of me think why she would be on the continent,” he added, thinking hard of who she might know over there. 

“Me neither, except for recruiting. I’m kinda hoping they think she’s just some batty old woman,” Hydrus said, running his hand through his hair in frustration. He was tempted to die just to see what Death said. After all, the deity wanted the woman also gone he should help. _Hey, maybe I can use the ghost to talk to Death, and then I wouldn’t have to die all the damn time,_ he thought.

“If she has money it doesn’t matter what they think,” James stated firmly. “Money will open a lot of doors, you know that. And we still have no idea where Crouch is, he might be with her,” he added, making everyone pause.

“Yeah, but as far as I know Crouch isn’t rich,” Hydrus stated, rubbing his head.

“You would say that after our… prank?” Sirius asked surprised. “That and I don’t think he trusts the goblins. He hates anything not fully human. I’m sure he kept most of his wealth at home.”

“Well, when you put it that way, I guess we’d better just keep our eyes open,” the immortal conceded.

“We just need to make sure we are not caught unprepared,” Remus added thoughtfully. All the classes, and sparring they did would come in handy. They would be better prepared then they had been with Tom Riddle.

“Yeah,” the time traveler mumbled, still trying to think of a reason she would be in overseas.

“Changing the subject, Hydrus, have you thought about releasing the Death Eaters?” Remus asked hesitantly. It was a debate he put off for a long time, and now that everything was well at the Ministry, he was hopeful the man would listen.

“I’m not sure, even with Smeller in office, the Wizengamot is still full of men and women who will and do take bribes,” the time traveler said, taking a sip of tea that Dobby just handed him. “Thanks, Dobby,” he said as the elf served the others, they all called their thanks and a blushing Dobby popped away.

“Okay, I can see why you might be reluctant, but still…” the werewolf trailed off.

“I’ll think about it,” Hydrus said, and he would. He just had to figure out how to make sure they served their time.

It was at that time that Harry woke up and he was soon brought downstairs by a relaxed Lily, who was just rising from her lie-in. They shared a full English breakfast and soon enough everyone went to work.

Hydrus went home that night and meditated until he came up with a solution for the problem. He just hoped Remus would be content. He really hated debating moral issues with that man. Right now, the matter of the Death Eaters was their only bone of contention.

**Hphphp**

A week later The Times headline read:

**Death Eaters Found**

The article went on to explain that over fifty Death Eaters were found bound together in the middle of Diagon Alley. They were in an unbreakable cage with a note stating that only Amelia Bones could open said cage. They were drugged to speak the truth and had a babbling spell on them. The Aurors and reporters took down everything they said. Some of the things they confessed to were not meant to be printed; however, their crimes were alluded to. The paper stated that if anyone of these minions of Tom Riddle’s got off, then the public should complain to their government.

Their arms were checked and so were the bundle of wands found at the scene. Soon enough they were all carted off to cells and scheduled to be tried. The only people missing were the Lestranges, Malfoy Sr., and Crouch Jr.

The Daily Prophet took up the stance that the missing people weren’t Death Eaters, but fine upstanding members of society. It stated that they had been kidnapped and used to extort information on the government.

Narcissa was quoted as saying ‘This just proves that poor Lucius and my dear sister, Bellatrix, are not Death Eaters.’ She went on to say that she demanded whoever kidnapped her husband and sister needed to return them.

“Why did you not return everyone?” Remus asked as he put down the rag of a newspaper. They were sitting in Lily’s café as they were wont to do. The place was still packed to the gills, but this group had a table reserved every day at noon. No one faulted the café for doing so.

“I told you, those people will never see the light of day. They are too dangerous,” Hydrus hissed, a bit miffed that the werewolf couldn’t just be happy with what he got. He looked around to make sure no one heard him and was content their conversation was private. He threw up a ward, just in case.

“Moony,” James said, bringing his friend’s attention to him, “can you imagine those five teaming up with Mrs. Black?” he asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

“Fine, okay, I am sorry,” he accepted with a nod, after remembering what the time traveler had showed him.

Hydrus dropped the ward; glad it hadn’t been needed.

Then Moony asked, hoping to lighten the mood by changing the topic, “Padfoot, how is the dating going?”

Sirius got a wicked smile as he glanced at Colette, who heard the question and raised an eyebrow. “I don’t kiss and tell,” he said, turning back to his friends and folding his arms, putting his nose in the air.

“Right, we were dormmates, remember. That’s all you do,” Prongs scoffed as he looked at the smug man and laughed, making the other two men break down with him.

“Maybe I’ve grown up,” Padfoot snipped back, still holding his pose.

“Oh, Sirius, I’ve known you as an adult, you will never grow up,” Hydrus said, chuckling.

“Fine, we’re getting along really well,” the younger Black smirked, dropping his mock demeanor. “And she is one hell of a kisser,” he leaned over and whispered with a grin and a wiggling of eyebrows. He looked quickly over to Colette, who just smiled and winked, making Sirius sigh in relief.

“I am sure she’s had plenty of experience,” muttered Remus. He knew she was a vampire, he didn’t know if Sirius knew, though he figured he might. Sirius wasn’t stupid and it was rumored all around Knockturn Alley, where the werewolf was now residing, since it was cheaper.

Hydrus kicked his foot and glared at him, that was not his secret to tell.

“What do you mean?” Sirius asked, not sure if he should be mad or not. He understood that there were talks of her being a vampire, but he didn’t care. She _is_ one hell of a kisser.

“Nothing, nothing, just that she is a very attractive woman and I am sure she was quite popular as a teen,” Remus quickly stated. Then when Sirius got an angry and affronted look he added, “Not like that. I am sure she is a very nice lady,” he backpedaled, holding up his hands.

“You better hope that’s what you mean,” Sirius snapped, even if she had hundreds of years of experience it wasn’t up to Moony to point that out.

“Let’s talk about something else,” Hydrus said, and they changed the subject once again to mundane things and had a relatively quiet lunch.

**Hphphp**

Months went by with no major fights, debates or battles. Things were peaceful in the Alleys and people were starting to relax. Everyone was hoping the quiet lasted.

The movies and playhouses were a huge success and brought in tons of money. More jobs and careers were open to the public and many Muggleborn were staying in the Wizarding World. Now that the Alleys were letting people use pound sterling, there was also an increase in profit. Hydrus was hopeful that galleons and such would be a thing of the past. His credit union worked better when it could interact with non-magical banks. The internet would be running soon, and he was thankful for it.

A few more friendly dates were had, and Hydrus was getting more comfortable with Vicky. The fact that she couldn’t die and was magical enough to protect her mind, went a long way with that. Now it was not uncommon for Hydrus, Sirius, Vicky and Colette to be seen at the movie theatre, or simply walking down the street.

Hydrus did open a paintball place and teens and men alike flocked to it. Then the women started showing up and wars of the sexes were had. You had a choice of using your wand or a paintball gun. It was indoors, in an expanded warehouse that had a transfigured forest and sandpits. It was a good mock-up and the fact that magic could be used to change the terrain made the wars that much harder.

Mrs. Black was still in overseas and no one could locate her, even the other governments were unable to help.

The law was passed about holding an office in the government for only four years. Now, Dumbledore would have to step down after the next few years.

The Potters and friends celebrated.

Hydrus was hopeful it would bring the man off his pedestal. He was still on the fence about Albus, who was continuing his quest to get the Potters’ house location and failing dismally. Still, it was great fun having the mock debates with the quirky old man. The immortal got the feeling that Albus wasn’t really trying.

A few stricter laws on the Statute of Secrecy were enforced and there were now blind alleys set up as Apparation points into the Muggle World. They all had spells on them to keep the non-magicals from seeing them, however they were still tricky. If you were seen coming out of an alley you didn’t go into, there could be questions, but it was the best solution they had for now. If you were caught not using them, then you were fined heavily. Portkeys were also regulated, and they could only be obtained in the Ministry. The Blacks, and all purebloods, now had to register their emergency ones.

Dress codes were also mandated. You had to be seen in proper Muggle attire if you were going to go into their world. That inspired many women to open stores. Now Diagon Alley was the bustling business it used to be and all the storefronts in the mall were filled. The lingerie shop that Hydrus opened caused a bit of a stir, but he just shrugged it off. He figured they’d get used to it, and the women adored the new underclothes. Men would soon realize that it would cause more fun at home.

**Hphphp**

The Potters and their friends were walking down Diagon Alley to get to their cars. A temp waitress had been hired for the afternoon so Vicky and Colette could join them. It was now a nice spring day in May, and they were all going to go to a theme park and see if they could get James on one of the rides. They were laughing and joking around.

“Come on, sweetheart, you can ride on one roller coaster,” Lily teased with a smile as she bounced Harry on her hip.

‘oller coast’,” the tiny tot said, smiling at his dad.

“That’s right, Harry, we just have to get Daddy to ride one,” she said, tapping his nose, making him giggle.

“You know you can’t go on any of the bigger rides, Lily, so I’ll stay with you,” her husband teased back, mussing up Harry’s hair and then rubbing Lily’s protruding belly.

“I know, I’m just teasing,” she said with a brilliant smile and reached down and put her hand on his. She was due in August and she was going to have the little girl she always dreamed of.

As the group walked toward the Leaky Cauldron, they were stopped by spell fire, which was over their heads, more like warning shots. Their bracelets flared and the shields popped up, causing them to stop.

“Potter!” came a shout from behind them.

Lily tightened her grip on Harry and ported home immediately; since she was pregnant there was no way she was going to fight. Everyone else stayed.

The men looked around expecting to see Crouch, since it was a male’s voice. That’s not who they got. No, standing in the middle of the Alley was Severus Snape, though only Hydrus knew that. The rest thought he was just some upstart Dark Wizard. He was dressed the part in all black clothes.

Snape was pissed; he had been kidnapped and lost months of time. He was sure it was Potter and his cohorts. All of Potter’s attempts to harm him in school left him with little doubt, and Lily’s visit reinforced that thought. That and he had been held in a Muggle prison in France for being there without paperwork. It was only when he _finally_ got to talk to the Magical Minister there that he could tell his side of the story, under truth serum. He wandered France and got a few jobs and finally settled down working as a brewer.

Then a week ago a cloaked woman told him that the Marauders, along with that unknown Black, were plotting against him and that he should return to Britain. She was very convincing and laid the Marauders’ plan out in detail. They were going to use James’ political pull to get him kicked out of his new country and make sure that he could never settle anywhere.

Since he was sure that Potter was the reason for his new looks that he couldn’t change, it made sense. He would have come sooner, but before that woman showed, he was content with his new life and now these asshats wanted to ruin it. Well, he wasn’t going to let that happen. He was an Occlumens, so he had no doubt that she hadn’t Confounded him. Therefore, she must have spoken the truth.

The dark clothed man was sneering at them and then he called to James, “You thought you could kidnap me and just drop me in the middle of nowhere, Potter? You thought you could just throw me away and then plot against my new life, you pathetic man? You are a stupid, arrogant man, how foolish of you to try. I have bested you before, and I will do it again.”

His silky voice filled the alley and he fired off a stunning spell. He hoped to get the man somewhere private so that they could come to reason. It was only the Marauders and few others, he was a very powerful wizard, and he knew he could hold them off until he made Potter fall. He didn’t think he would have a problem with the public. The last time he was in Diagon Alley it was as a Death Eater and they all ran as soon as he popped in.

Hydrus threw up a shield to block it and they all looked in awe at the terribly upset man. They were too dumbstruck by his appearance to do anything but shield. Since he wasn’t throwing anything deadly the bracelets just added to the shields, so they just stared. They had no idea what he was talking about, well… most of them.

“Woah… Snivellus? Is that you? I recognize the voice, but I have to say the looks are an improvement,” James said. He was looking at the lighter version of Snape. His hair was a dark blond and clean. His face wasn’t as long and sharp. His nose and teeth looked straighter.

Then Sirius giggled a real giggle. He folded over and started full-blown laughing, grabbing his knees to keep mostly upright.

Hydrus put a ward around him and smacked him on the head repeatedly and said, “Not now, Padfoot. This could be bad. He isn’t firing anything harmful yet, but that could change.”

It was shite like this that got the man killed in his first timeline. He kept his wand trained on the man who was getting angrier by the minute. He knew Snape had a temper and could blow at any minute.

“Okay, okay,” the laughing man tried to stop. “But it’s Snivellus,” he whinged, “and we have our portkeys. I don’t know why you’re all defensive,” he added, still trying to get control of himself.

“Get up, stupid, this is how you died before,” the immortal hissed in his ear, his eyes never leaving Snape’s cold face.

That got the man up and he sobered quickly.

During the time they bantered, the women were getting their children away from the scene and men were gathering around the group with their wands raised. 

“You people have no business here,” Snape snapped at the crowd, completely surprised they weren’t running for cover. Then a few women joined the crowd, flooring the man. “Leave,” he tried his best to be menacing, and he pulled it off, but the crowd didn’t disperse like he thought they would.

“You are firing off curses in a busy street, of course we have reason to be here,” a man yelled back, his wand pointed at the ex-Death Eater.

“You could’ve hit the kids, we have every right to fire back if you continue,” someone else said.

“We ain’t going nowhere, you Death Eater scum,” another man yelled.

“This is between me, Potter and his… friends,” the Potions Master jeered, though he did lower his wand. He was only one man and even with the Dark Arts he could not fight a crowd of defensive people.

If they had been the sheep he had left, then perhaps he could hold his own. These people were not acting as he remembered. _What happened while I was gone?_ he thought. He knew Lily vanquished the Dark Lord, but paid little attention to the happenings of Britain, trying to leave that life behind.

“Right, just so you know I had nothing to do with your… whatever happened to you, Snape,” James said, not backing down. He didn’t even glance in Hydrus’ direction. “And I could care less what you do with your life, as long as you leave Lily out of it. I know it was you that put my family in danger,” he glared at his childhood enemy.

“You expect me to believe that after you sent your wife to do your dirty work,” Severus scoffed, his eyes flicking from person to person to see how they would take that bit of information.

There were glances at James as people wondered if he had put his wife in danger. Then again, she was the Witch Who Vanquished. So, they turned their attention back to the menace.

“Oh, well, to tell you the truth, I was there the entire time,” James laughed at the shocked look on the man’s face. “You really should have taken her up on her offer. You wouldn’t be facing down… ummm, twenty or so wands,” he said as he glanced around the crowd and took a quick count. “You should’ve stayed where you were,” he added, narrowing his eyes and taking up a fighting stance.

“Severus, my boy, it is good to see you again, but why are you attacking James?” came the gentle voice of the Headmaster. He approached the crowd in all his colorful glory. He came to James and laid a hand on his arm, making him lower it. Then he looked disappointed at the people surrounding the four men and two women, and they too lowered their wand, though they did not put them away.

“He kidnapped me and then dropped me in France,” the young man stated, looking at his old headmaster, wondering if this time he would berate Potter for breaking the law. “That and he somehow changed my appearance. I am sure it is the watch, but the blasted thing will not come off.” He held up the arm in question and though he did approve of the new looks it was the principle of the matter.

“Do you have proof of this,” the Headmaster inquired.

“No, but I know it was him,” the other man said. “A woman came and told me that he and his friends were plotting against me. I had to come and protect myself. I just want him to leave me alone,” he stated firmly. “He has done enough to me, why would he need to do more now?”

 _Shite, that’s what Walburga must have been doing. How the hell did she find him? No one knows that I put him there. What the bloody hell?_ Hydrus’ thoughts raced at the implication that something deeper might be going on.

“I swear, Albus, I had nothing to do with it,” James said solemnly, raising his hand in an innocent gesture. “I don’t give a rat’s damn what happens to him as long as he leaves me and mine alone. There are no plots to ruin his life. We don’t even talk about him.”

“Well, we seem to have a conundrum,” the old man stated, stroking his beard. “Severus, can you tell me what happened? I am sure this is all a misunderstanding.” He turned his attention to the young man he so desperately wanted to turn to the Light.

“I am not completely sure,” Snape confessed, thinking over the past several months. “Lily… I mean, Mrs. Potter came to my home to offer me a way out of the country and away from the Dark Lord. She said she had a way to remove the Mark and would give me enough money to leave,” he sneered once more at James.

“He’s right, we did do that,” James said, nodding his head. “I was hidden, because I didn’t trust him. We left when he turned us down.”

“Then when I denied her,” Snape sneered at the man’s confession, “I was attacked a few days later. I awoke in a field in France, missing months of time. My appearance was changed, I had some money and the Mark was gone. I was then arrested by the Muggles and detained for months until the French Magical Ministry was informed,” he finished once more scanning the crowd of on-lookers.

“I promise, Albus, I haven’t seen Snape since that day,” James offered, a confused look on his face.

“I had a good life going until the unknown woman showed and let me in on their nefarious plans to ruin me.” The darker man glared at his hated enemy, convinced they were up to no good.

“Oh, I am very sorry to hear that, my boy, I am sure it was to protect you,” the old man tried to placate. “Young James and Lily only had your best interests at heart. If you had taken them up on their offer, we would not be here now.”

“I could not trust them. No one that I knew of could remove the Mark. It wasn’t until I woke from my kidnapping that I realized they might have been telling the truth,” Severus stated, firm in his belief that the facts spoke true.

Dumbledore folded his hands over his beard and looked over his glasses at the young man with twinkling eyes, as if he had solved the problem and all would be well. “Be that as it may, you still have no proof of wrongdoing on James’ part. Who was the woman you spoke to?”

“I do not know,” the other man confessed.

“Come now, Severus, you know better than to listen to those who do not reveal themselves,” the old man stated as he looked disappointed at Snape, making Hydrus cringe.

“You,” Severus pointed his finger at the Headmaster, “are doing it again. Every single time these morons did something to me; you would take their side and turn it around to be my fault.” His voice rose. “It is because of you that I joined the Dark Lord! You and your favoritism! You almost let them kill me, you senile old man! And then when I wanted to press charges, you slapped them on the wrist and said, ‘bad boys, do not do that again.’ Time and time again, they plotted and you dismissed my complaints about their deeds,” he accused the old man, spittle flying from his mouth at the anger he felt as he approached Dumbledore. “It is because of you that many joined! You and your vaulted ‘greater good’! You are nothing but a conniving old man who cannot see the forest for the trees!” he raged, his face turning red and his wand lifted again.

The crowd converged, but they were held back by Dumbledore’s ward.

“Now, Severus, do not do anything you will regret. We can talk this over; there is no need for violence,” Albus said, raising his own wand, which was decidedly not elder. He never did find out why the Death Stick was no longer functioning. He feared that it was a mystery that he would never solve. He knew that the Potter Cloak was also defunct. He went and got the Resurrection Stone and it was a mere hunk of rock. His lifelong goal to obtain the Deathly Hallows was now just a pipe dream. He threw up a strong shield and continued to try and talk the man down.

“Once again you are not listening to me!”

“Now, Severus, I always listen to you,” the Headmaster stated. “Thank you, for trying to help,” he told the crowd, “but I am sure we can settle this peacefully.” He waved them away, and they backed off, though they didn’t lower their wands. “He is merely confused,” he added looking at Snape with compassion.

Snape snapped. His face morphed into complete rage and disbelief. It was just one too many times that the Headmaster dismissed him. “Confused!? Peacefully!? How can we settle anything peacefully when you have done your best to put me in my place, which in your opinion was lower than you precious Gryffindors!? For all your talk of equality, you let these… boys run amuck and cause hate and discontent, and then you patted them on the head and all but told them ‘good job’! You, pathetic old man, you ruined my life!” the enraged man yelled and fired off a cutting curse.

“Now, Severus, it was your own choices that made you turn to Voldemort. I tried to warn you that your anger would be your downfall,” Dumbledore stated as he batted the curse away. “Come with me and we will discuss this,” he offered, trying as usual to save someone, who right now did not want to be saved. “I am sure we can find a nonviolent solution.”

“You do not understand, do you, you relic!?” Snape shouted as he put up a shield to ward off the many curses and spells that flew his way. It was a dark brown shield and it held up under the barrage. “After this day I will never listen to you again!” he roared his vow. He fired off a Sectumsempra, which cut through the Headmaster’s shield and sliced him right down the middle.

“SHITE!” Hydrus yelled and ran to the felled man and tore open his robes to get to the injury. He worked his holly over the cut singing the counter curse, but for some reason is wasn’t closing. “No, no, no. Not him,” he muttered, and ran his wand over the cut again as blood poured over those blindly, colorful robes. “Shite, shite, shite, why isn’t this closing?” he switched wands and tried singing again to no avail.

“Ah, mystery solved,” the old man croaked as he coughed up blood. Now he understood why the Hallows were not what they used to be. The only mystery was how this young man obtained them. He felt his life ebbing away and knew that he would only receive his answers in death. He patted the man trying to save him on the shoulder, and then his arm fell to the ground. He was too weak to move again.

“Don’t you die on me, old man. You haven’t figured out where the Potters live. How are you ever to know if you die?” Hydrus stated as he continued to try and close the wound.

“Do not… worry, my boy… if it is my time… then I am at… peace with that,” the Greatest Wizard of these times stated as he coughed up more blood. His breath rattled in his chest and his eyes closed one last time.

“Right, the next great adventure,” the immortal time traveler whispered as he watched his old mentor take his last breath. Guilt overcame him once again; another man died before his time and it was all his fault. That and if he was not the Master of the Deathly Hallows then Albus’ shield would have held. He stood and twirled around, pointing his wand to where Snape had been, but the man was gone. “SHITE!” he bellowed to the skies. “I hate you!” he yelled, pointing up at no one. “Where the fuck did he go?” he whirled on James.

“We tried, Hydrus. After he cast the curse and you went to Albus, we attacked, but he ported away. He just got a sad look on his face and said ‘activate’ and he was gone,” the male Potter stated, trying to calm the immortal down.

Vicky came up to him and put her arm around his shoulder and led him away. He was in shock and still holding the Elder Wand, but it was at his side and no one saw it.

It was then the Aurors came and started taking statements. The crowd was more than happy to comply. They told the story about how Severus Snape came and killed the Headmaster. How he looked now and the fight that incurred. The Aurors were waving their wands over the dead Leader of the Light, trying to find out why his shield didn’t hold. They did note that it was not his usual wand and were testing it for the last spell used.

“Hydrus, put the Elder Wand away and bring out your other one,” Vicky hissed in his ear and he blindly did as ordered.

Tears were rolling down his face and he vowed he would get Severus Tobias Snape.


	19. Time To End This

Hydrus got up off the streets, trying hard not to look at the body of the headmaster. Tears were running down his face, his eyes were puffy and swollen. He was having a hard time seeing, great heaves of grief were making his shoulders shake. He tried taking a few deep breaths, and clear his mind, so he could do what needed to be done.

His family and friends were patting him wherever they could reach. They were trying to make sure he didn’t go off halfcocked.

He let them calm him down and sighed. He looked around at all the people still milling about.

They were all staring in fascinated horror at the dead man. Albus Dumbledore was known to them all and they couldn’t believe he was dead.

Aurors finally showed, and they too were shocked at who had died. They quickly got the story from the crowd and one of them ported the body away.

“That’s it. I’m done playing Mr. Nice Guy. I’m going to find that bitch and the arseholes working for her and they will never see the light of day again,” Hydrus vowed. He didn’t mean like the Death Eaters either. Those three were going to die. And soon.

“Come on, Hydrus. Come with me,” Vicky said softly, when the Aurors left. “Let’s get you home.” She gently took his arm and Disapparated with him to his house. Blowing right through the wards around the Alley. Not that anyone noticed, they were still all gossiping about what had happened.

The two landed in his front lawn since she was only a guest. They then walked woodenly up the path to the house. Hydrus flopped bonelessly onto the sofa, while Vicky asked Tippy to get some drinks. Without really realizing what he as doing, the immortal man drank the Firewhiskey and thought hard about how he was going to get justice done.

“I can help,” Vicky stated, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“How?” he asked, leaning forward, putting the empty glass on the table.

“Hydrus, my parents have been around for over 600 years. I know a thing or two, that the public doesn’t. I can scry,” she said, with a bright smile.

“You can? For anyone?” he asked in wonder. It was a very rare talent, not even Trelawny taught that. She touched upon it, but it was the only thing she confessed to have no talent in.

“Yes,” she answered with a nod. “All I need is their full name.”

“Bartemius Crouch, Sr., Severus Tobias Snape, Walburga Narcissa Black,” he rattled off immediately.

“Great, now I need some parchment, a map, and a needle on a string,” she said, smiling at his willingness to believe her.

“I thought that was just non-magical hooey,” Hydrus said, going around the room to get what she needed. He had to call Tippy for the needle, he never used one. Though he supposed, he could transfigure one. But before he could, Tippy appeared holding one in her hand. “Thanks, Tippy,” he said.

The elf nodded and popped away.

“It is, for non-magicals, but it is a very true spell for magicals,” she said, laying the map on the coffee table. She then scribbled the names on small pieces of parchment.

“Wow,” was all he could say as he watched her wrap a piece of parchment around the needle with Snape’s name on it.

She then picked up the string, said a few words in Greek, and hovered it over the map. The needle circled around and landed on a small wizarding village in France. Then she did the same for the other two names and found them in the same village, albeit different houses. 

“Do wards prevent this?” Hydrus asked, taking down the name of the village.

“No, though this method doesn’t tell what wards there are. So, I would not just jump right on over there, if I were you,” she said, laying the needle down.

“What about the Fidelius?”

“If that charm is up, then the spell will point you to the Secret Keeper,” she explained.

“Oh, I see, then you can find the Keeper and get the Secret,” he nodded in understand.

“Yes,” was the answer.

“I need to set some things up. I must stop these people before anymore die. I don’t like killing and I’ve prevented most of it so far. However…” he stopped, leaving the statement open.

Vicky only smiled. “I’m not against killing for justice,” she said. “Cold blooded murder, on the other hand…” she too left it open. She cleared her throat and added, “I guess this time it’s justice. However, I’d like to say that Snape was acting on false information. I saw his face after what happened, and I don’t think he is in his right mind. I’m sure someone has been messing with him.”

“He’s an Occlumens,” Hydrus said in protest.

“Which actually makes it easier to mess with someone,” she said, holding up her hands when he opened his mouth to protest again. “Let me explain. An Occlumens feels that they have a good control over their mind. They don’t for a moment think that someone can tamper with it without them knowing. What they don’t know is that there are many subtle spells that slip right by shields and poison the mind slowly. From what you told me about Mrs. Black, she is immersed in the Dark Arts. It is not out of the realm of possibilities that she knows some of these spells.”

“Oh, I never knew that. I mean, I’ve studied the Dark Arts, but not so much mind magic. I have good shields, but now I think I need to learn more,” Hydrus said, settling back to think for a moment. If he thought about it, he knew that she was right. There were many times Voldemort would use mind control on people that had good shields. The man had controlled his thoughts often enough when he was a teenager. “How did you find this out?” he asked.

“My dad did a study on it. You need to know these magics to be able to scry,” she explained, waving a hand to the map.

“I guess that makes sense,” he said, getting up from the sofa to get another drink. He noted that she still had hers so didn’t offer.

“What do you plan to do?” she asked, following his movements with her head.

“I’m not sure,” he confessed. “I mean, I just watched Snape kill a man I admired. But if what you say is true, I just don’t know. Maybe, I’ll get Walburga and question her under truth serum.” He shrugged his shoulder as he set the Firewhiskey bottle down and went to sit on the sofa.

“That sounds like a good start,” she said, picking up her drink finally and raised her glass. “To Albus Dumbledore. May he enjoy his next great adventure.”

“To Dumbledore,” he said, raising his glass and then taking a sip.

“Hydrus,” someone called from outside, “let us in.”

The two got up and went to the door. There on the lawn was Sirius and Colette.

Hydrus lifted and eyebrow at the two. Colette had never been invited here, so she didn’t know the secret, she was holding onto Sirius’ arm and staring blankly ahead.

“Why are you here?” the immortal man asked instead.

“Colette has an idea,” Sirius explained. “I think you’ll like it,” he offered.

“Let’s meet at the Potters,” Hydrus suggested, he really didn’t want to start letting Sirius’ girlfriends in on his secret. Vicky had only known about it two days ago. And it was only because they were getting closer. Right now, she was as good a friend as Hermione had been in his first life. Well, maybe not as close, but still a good friend.

“Okay, we’ll meet you there,” Sirius said and popped away.

“Sometimes that man,” Hydrus grumbled, leading Vicky back into the house.

“I thought we were leaving,” she said, a bit confused.

“I need to get something first,” he explained, then ran up the stairs. He came back down and led her outside past the wards and they Disapparated to the Potters.

Everyone was there, sitting in the cozy room. It was cramped, but it was the only place where everyone was invited. Lily had let the two women in on the location because they worked for her fulltime and now that she was pregnant, there were times they needed to bring paperwork over. James had no problem with this.

Harry was walking around his playpen, picking up toys and throwing them out of the contraption. Lily would then float them back in from her place on the couch.

Everyone’s face was sad. They all thought well of Dumbledore and were terribly upset that they had to see him die. Sure, the man had his faults, but he did try to do what he felt was right. It was easy to forget that sometimes Albus had done something they didn’t like now that he was gone.

Remus was affected the worse. He had always held the Headmaster above all others. Even his friends. Albus had been his idol. His thoughts were dark, and his mind was going over all the ways this could have been prevents. And he came to one conclusion. Hydrus.

It was only knowing that he would get nowhere blaming Hydrus that kept him in his chair. Even after all this time, he still felt the time traveler should have never messed with time. Sure, Lily and James would be dead. Sirius would be in prison. He would be neck deep in depression. Harry would be with hateful people. Hydrus had stopped all of that from happening. But now two people had died before their time. And one of those people was the greatest wizard of all time. He would never forgive Hydrus this transgression.

He got up from his chair and left without a word.

“He blames me,” Hydrus said, flopping down in a chair and giving a huge sigh. “I don’t blame him. I blame me too.”

“It was not your fault,” Lily said, placing a hand on the knee she could reach. “Severus has always had an explosive temper.”

“No, in a way, Remus is right,” he disagreed, then looked at the two not in the know. He shook his head and decided not to explain further. Those in the know agreed.

“Colette has an idea,” Sirius stated, taking the pressure off Hydrus.

“Yes, I do,” the vampire said, from where she was sitting on Sirius’ lap. “I want to get the help of the coven,” she said with a vindictive grin.

While she didn’t know Dumbledore, you didn’t live as a long as she had without hearing about the famous man. That and her friends were hurting, and she wanted to do all she could to help. The coven loved getting revenge. They were vampires, and they had a large sense of honor.

“Vicky pointed something out,” Hydrus said, waving to the woman in question, letting her explain, which she did. The looks on everyone’s face at her explanation of mind magics, reminded him of when he first explained something to Grace.

Colette nodded along with her lecture. Vampires knew more about mind magic than anyone ‘alive’. Her source must have gotten their knowledge from the coven.

“She’s right,” the vampire said, “if they know enough, that could happen. Even I know the Blacks know more Dark Arts that most.”

“So… we’re not going after Snape?” James asked, cautiously.

“Not until we question Walburga,” Hydrus stated, sighing again.

“And you know where she is?” Sirius asked this time.

“Yes, and I’m going to go and get her and Crouch tonight. I’ll put Snape on ice, until we know what’s what. No, I don’t need help. I can do this on my own. However, Colette, talk to the coven. Maybe they can deal with Snape. If he truly was hoodwinked, then they might be able to find out. Let them know I’ll pay if needed,” the time traveler said, getting up from his chair and leaning over to kiss Lily on the forehead.

“Where are you going?” the redhead asked, a worried look in her eyes.

“To France,” he said as he walked towards the door. “I don’t want to lose the advantage of where they are right now.” With that he left.

Everyone shared worried looks, even little Harry.

**Hphphp**

Hydrus went to the Ministry and got a legal portkey to France. He made sure to tell them that he needed to do some business there. Since he was a well-known businessman, they didn’t question it. He appeared at the French Ministry, and then made his way to an apparation point. He quietly Disapparated to the village that Vicky had scryed.

Ducking into and alley, he donned his Invisibility Cloak, and used the point-me spell to find he quarry. Sneaking around the houses, and darting through the streets, he followed the spell. It was dusk right now, so most people were home.

He came upon an old dilapidated house and creeped to the nearest window. Using a levitation spell, he inched it up so hear what was being said inside.

“…trouble,” a man’s voice said.

“I know that,” snapped a woman’s voice. “He was supposed to kill my son, and that squib’s kid as well. Not Dumbledore.”

That was all the proof Hydrus needed. He slotted his wand into the crack of the window. Took aim and fired two quick stunning spells. When his prey dropped, he jumped into the house, via the window, and transfigured Crouch into a rock. He then tied Walburga up, poured Veritaserum on her tongue, and revived her.

“Did you trick Snape with mind arts?” he immediately asked.

“Yes,” she answered monotone.

“How did you find him?” Hydrus wanted to know.

“I just looked for the youngest Potions Master. It might be a small village, but rumors still roam,” was the answer.

“Why did you look for him?”

“He hates my son. That made it easy to coheres him into doing my dirty work.”

“Have you been killing the lower Blacks?”

“I got two of the traitors, Crouch got the third.”

That was all Hydrus needed to know. He shot a bludgeoning spell at her head and felt no remorse when it blew to pieces. He didn’t even wipe off the blood before he put Crouch to rights and did the same thing. He then transfigured the bodies to rocks, cleaned up the house with a wave of his wand. He lit a small fire on the corner of the battered rug near the fireplace and left. People would simply think it was a natural fire.

The whole time he was there he was still under his Cloak. He made sure to erase his signature and moved on to Snape’s house.

Severus was sitting in a chair, drinking straight from the bottle. There were dried tear tracks on his face, and he was quite drunk. He seemed to be staring off into space, and he was completely unaware of his surroundings.

Hydrus had no problem sneaking in and transfiguring him into a doll. He’d take the man back to Britain and hand him to Colette. He’d let the coven try him and if he was innocent, as Walburga suggested, then maybe they could relocate him. Or something. He just hoped the man didn’t’ get away scot free.

He looked at the doll in his hand and then restored it for a moment. He removed the watch and watched as Snape become Snape again. He then returned him back to his doll form and put him in his pocketspace.

He stayed in Paris for a few days, doing some business, and then went home.

**Hphphp**

Dumbledore’s funeral was that weekend. It was just as large and ostentatious has it had been in Hydrus’ first timeline. The late headmaster was laid to rest on Hogwarts’ grounds, in a marble mausoleum. The whole of Great Britain mourned the man. He had been well loved and well liked.

His dying had left a power vacuum that would need to be filled quickly, and the government was scrambling to do just that. James was offered a higher Wizengamot positions, so that one of the older members could take Chief Warlock. He gladly accepted, and the Wizengamot appointed Augusta Longbottom to the ICW. The headmaster’s position was filled by Minerva McGonagall.

**Hphphp**

Hydrus was sitting in his home, alone. He was going over all he had done in this timeline and was content at what he had accomplished. Sure, a few people died before their time, but many, many more were alive.

The government was stable, the economy was thriving, his family was happy and growing, even his friends were content. He had nothing left to do. He wasn’t raising Harry this time, so he had lots of extra time… to do nothing.

Sure, he could manipulate the timeline if he wanted, but he was content to let it just flow. His relationship with Vicky might grow into something more, but that still didn’t take up much of his time.

Now that Voldemort, Walburga, Crouch and Snape were all taken care of, he felt at drift.

Snape had been taken in by the coven. They offered to make him a vampire and give him safe haven. He accepted and never looked back. He was still punished, in the fact that he was a low on the hierarchy, and he would stay that way for hundreds of years. He’d never be allowed to roam, and had to stay within the coven, doing their bidding, until his time was paid. Still, the new vampire didn’t seem to care. He could brew to his heart’s content and no one would ever trick him again.

Everyone was okay with this, except Remus. After the werewolf had left, they hadn’t heard from him. The bookstore had been sold and the man disappeared.

The Potters, and Sirius, were a bit heartbroken. Though they admitted to each other, in private, that they were expecting it for a while. Remus had never settled down about Hydrus. He was always wary and disapproving. James had noted it a while ago when they had had their chat about it. He knew the time would come the moment he told Remus that he’d pick his time traveling son over his friend. He had just been waiting for the inevitable.

Hydrus was relieved. It had been a constant argument with the werewolf. He didn’t think he’d have to worry about Remus killing him. It wasn’t in the man’s nature. He was, however, glad he had never confessed about being the Master of Death. Remus had never earned the privilege.

Still, Hydrus was now bored.

He mulled over what Death had told him and started getting ideas on how to avoid being the ‘champion’ of this timeline. Now that he had someone he could travel with, who wouldn’t die on him, he might start looking into going outside his timeline. As Vicky proved, there was magic he didn’t know about. Maybe, he could get her to share. That way he could make plans.

This caused him to daydream of all the realms and timelines he could visit. Like meeting the Founders, or Merlin, or many others. He could learn all there was to learn, and even teach a few things to others.

It was a good dream. One he planned on fulfilling. All he needed was time and magic.


	20. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to tack this on to the last chapter but decided to just post it as is. I thought about it last night and felt that maybe just a bit more would end the story. That and it leaves it open for the next one. If I, or someone else, get the urge to write it. Hope you like it.

Hundreds of years had passed, and Hydrus had finally learned enough to move on. Vicky and he had studied everything they could on magic. They learned of ley lines, that had all been forgotten when wizard stopped doing ritual magic. He learned more of dimensional travel, via hidden libraries. They now had at their fingertips everything known by modern wizards about magic.

They had taken trips around the world and studied all they could. It had been a great adventure for them, and they felt that it was time to move on. They had planned and studied everything. All the while keeping businesses going and amassing quite a fortune in the meantime.

Lily and James had lived a very long life. In the end they had four children, and dozens of grandchildren, and even more great grandchildren. The Potter name would not die out any time soon. They too kept busy and when their time came, they thanked Hydrus for giving them what they had not his in his timelines.

To Hydrus that made it all worthwhile.

Sirius married Colette, and since they couldn’t have kids, they adopted. Sirius made sure that he had an heir, and two more as well. He blood adopted each of them, though Colette couldn’t because she wasn’t ‘alive’. Still, they lived a happy life. When Sirius died, Colette decided to join him. She felt she had lived her life and went to the coven to have the Master Vampire finish her off.

Harry had grown well. His live with his parents was even better that growing up with Hydrus. In the immortal’s opinion. He again became the youngest Minister and lead the country well. His family was large, and he had kept in touch with his Uncle Hydrus and Aunt Vicky. He never found out they were immortal, and when he passed, the two left Britain for a while, only to come back when Harry’s great grandkids were at Hogwarts.

As for Remus, well they didn’t find out until after he died, but he lived in the woods the rest of his short life. He had closed himself off from the world. He left a diary, and in it he ranted and raved about how everything in his life was Hydrus’ fault. The loss of his friends, the death of his idol, and the reason he was stuck in the woods, with nothing but squirrels for company. The diary didn’t say why, due to his vow, but it blamed everything on the other man. Judging from his raving, the werewolf fell into a bottle and stayed there. They never found out how he died, but when his body was discovered, the Potters were informed.

Hydrus had been the ‘champion’ for this timeline. Taking down any Dark Lord/Lady that showed up. Not just in Britain either. No, whenever one reared their ugly heads, Hydrus was called to smite them. He hated it. He was so tired of killing off bad guys, and trying to prevent them from showing up in the first place, that he had killed himself just to talk to Death.

He woke in the grey space. It was very familiar by now; he’d been here often enough.

Death was near, as usual. Sitting in a chair, just watching.

“I’m tired of this,” Hydrus said, standing up, conjuring a chair and sitting in it. “Don’t you think I’ve paid for my ‘crime’?” he asked in a demanding voice.

“I have no answer for you,” the deity said, not wanting to lose his control. Still, he had to be honest, so he just kept it vague.

“What do you mean you have no answer? The timeline has to have settled by now,” he stated, raising his voice in anger. “It’s been over 500 years.”

“The future is clear now,” the skeletal man confirmed.

“Good, because, I _am_ the Master of Death, _not_ its servant. And I demand that you quit tugging my strings,” the immortal barked, slamming his fist on the arm of the chair. His aura flared brightly, causing Death to flinch a bit. 

He then knew that the boundaries had been pushed as far as they could have been. He knew the day would come, and he had not been looking forward to it.

“Of course,” Death said, softly.

“I have complete control over the Hallows, and you will no longer dictate what I do,” the immortal continued as if he had not heard Death concede his point.

That had been Vicky’s doing, she pointed out that he had not mastered the items, just used them as tools. According to her, he had to take control of them so that he could move on. It had taken months of meditation, and immense use of magic for them to finally be a part of him and not just something he utilized. Now they stayed in his pocketspace and all he needed to do was think about what he wanted from each item, and it happened. It wasn’t until this last battle had he finally felt he had total control. Hence, him being here.

“As you wish,” Death said in monotone.

“You can also tell Fate to bugger off. I’m going on vacation, and you two will not stop me,” the immortal time traveler said, standing up. He then did something he had never done before. He left without the help of Death.

He appeared in his and Vicky’s house. They had moved here after their return. He had no use for the other house, so they bought this tiny one together. They had lived here for the last one hundred years. They had been a couple for hundreds of years. It had been good. To finally have someone they could spend eternity with was heaven sent. It was a good thing they got on so well. Sure, they took time off from one another every fifty years or so, but that just made them closer when they got back together. 

Vicky’s parents had passed away when they reached the age of 750. The Flamels felt it was time, so they ceased taking the elixir. Vicky and her brother stayed with them until they were gone. They passed peacefully in their sleep. The stone was destroyed, and the Flamel fortune was split between their children.

Aries, Vicky’s brother, went back to his wife, after Vicky confided in him about the ‘traveling’ she and Hydrus were planning. He wished her well and left. They had never had a close relationship.

“Vicky,” Hydrus called up the stairs.

“Yeah,” she answered, poking her head out of their bedroom.

“Want to go see some new sights?” he asked with a mischievous grin.

“Really?” she said with a great deal of excitement. Her eyes dancing.

“Yes!” he yelled and laughed.

“Finally,” she said, flying down the stairs, and hugging him tightly.

He picked her up and twirled her around. “Maybe,” he said softly into her hair. “Maybe, we can find what we’re looking for.” They had been searching for a place they could raise a family. With Hydrus’ ‘champion’ title they had held off. Now that he freed himself, it could happen.

“That would be nice,” she sighed.

“Okay,” he said, releasing her. “Let’s get everything in order.”

They had been planning this for an exceedingly long time. They had liquidated all their assets for easy removal and sold or given away a lot of things they would not need for where they were planning on going. It was only a matter of days before they were set to go. The house was on the market and the processes would go to Hydrus’ great, great, great niece. The oldest of the Potters.

It was the Spring Equinox and they were standing at Stonehenge. It was a calm night, and midnight was drawing near. They made sure to have everything in their pocketspace and were only waiting for the seconds to count down.

They had tried to dress in period clothes, so they could blend in. They just hoped they got it right.

Hydrus lifted his right hand, holding Vicky’s in his left. When the time came, he called the portal. It was just as bright the last time he used it, but much larger. Taking a deep breath, each, they walked through. The trip was longer this time, it was like moving through cold molasses, and the electrical charge made all their hair stand on end.

Finally, the trip was over, and they looked around, trying to catch their breath.

“Where are we?” Vicky asked, not seeing Stonehenge.

“I think the question is, when are we?” Hydrus answered, seeing a forest that hadn’t been there when they left. They had not set a date for when they’d show up, just a vague time period.

Just then a figure ran out of the trees, waving a staff and yelling at them in a language they didn’t know.

“Oops, I didn’t think of that,” Hydrus said, sheepishly.

“Yeah, me neither,” Vicky confessed, pulling her wand and casting a translation spell.

“Leave this place,” the man yelled, running towards them as fast as he could. “They are coming. Run.” He ran right passed them, and they turned to watch him go.

“Well, you heard the man,” Hydrus said, with a grin, keeping ahold of her hand. “Let’s run.”

With that, the two ran, excited for something new to happen. Sure, they were in danger again, but that was okay. They could deal with it together. And if they happened to have some fun along the way, well that was good too.


End file.
